What We Should Be Doing
by drgemini86
Summary: As SG1 and Jack plan their weddings, the team is dragged into another mission. Missing scenes for Ark of Truth. Sequel to the What I Should Have Told You series. SamDaniel, CamVala, JackSara, Teal'cIsh'ta
1. Chapter 1

_**What We Should Be Doing, by DrGemini86 (DrGemini24)**_

_**Summary: **__As SG-1 and Jack plan their weddings, the team is dragged into another mission. Missing scenes for Ark of Truth. Sequel to the What I Should Have Told You series. _

_**Pairings: **__SamDaniel, CamVala, ValaTomin, Teal'cIsh'ta, JackSara_

_**Rating: **__T_

_**Category: **__Established Relationship_

_**Genres: **__Angst, Drama, Episode-related, Friendship, Relationship-focussed, Sequel_

_**Spoilers: **__seasons 1-10, Ark of Truth_

_**Series: **__Preceded by the What I Should Have Told You series_

_**A/N: **__It might appear a little choppy but it's written so that it supplements the film. Apologies to anyone who's been waiting for this – I've been meaning to write this sequel for what seems like aeons... it's just the ol' muse needed several kick starts._

_It might be advisable to have read What I Should Be Told You, but seeing as that is like 85 little scenes, I'll give you the gist here..._

_**Previously: **__After the events of the Shroud, Sam and Daniel finally give into their mutual attraction for each other and embark on a relationship in and around the events of the latter half of season 10. Not long afterwards, Cam and Vala get together. During the course of Unending, Daniel and Vala contract a strain of the Asgard's disease that makes them forget their other halves. After everything is reset, Daniel proposes to Sam, and Cam proposes to Vala... and they all end up going camping with Jack and Teal'c._

0o0o0o0o0o0

A bright flash of light. A mountain collapsing. Morgan le Fay. Odd and bewildering images flashed before him, speeding up, faster and faster until he could take no more. With a strangled scream as everything appeared to explode around him in a violent flash of light and sound, Daniel sat bolt up right in bed, gasping for breath as he looked around himself at the dark bedroom, scared. As a worried Sam, her hair now shoulder length, quickly sat up, having been woken up by him tossing and turning prior to screaming, he, still panting, checked his torso, not knowing what he was looking for.

Seemingly yet inexplicably satisfied and relieved, he closed his eyes as he caught his breath back, leaning his head back, and Sam asked, smoothing his shoulder, "Daniel?"

He opened his eyes and murmured as his breaths eventually evened out, "I think I'm losing it. It's the same thing every time... I don't know what it is."

Even more concerned, she asked as she held him in her arms, his head against her bosom, "Exploding mountain?"

He nodded. "They're getting more vivid." he whispered, gradually feeling relaxed as Sam ran her fingers through his hair, his voice growing drowsy, "I don't know what they mean. They're just... weird. I'm finally losing it like Nick... next I'll be seeing dead people."

She chuckled softly, remembering how they had both laughed at Sixth Sense earlier, and she kissed his brow, watching his eyes close. "You're just in need of a vacation... we've been working too hard with this Ori thing."

"Oh... I wish. I've always wanted to show you the K-T boundary... and we could go to Mesa Verde as well." he yawned. "The amount of vacation time we've collectively accrued, we'd never go back to work... but then we could go to Egypt. That would be a cool honeymoon... well, not 'cool' as in temperature cool..."

She chuckled again, amused as he continued to ramble drowsily, and she kissed his brow once again. "Ssshh, honey. Go to sleep."

He whined, his eyes already closed, "Don't wanna..."

She smoothed the hair around his ear, whispering, "We've got work tomorrow... you need to sleep if you're going to go off on Daniel Jackson tangents without falling asleep at the briefing room table and have Cam making rude jokes." she smiled when he didn't answer, the Archaeologist now asleep, and she sighed softly as she lie down with him, holding him close as she gazed at him in concern at worry. She whispered, sighing as she thought of the base Psychologist,

"We can see Hutchinson tomorrow if you want... he might be able to help you."

0o0o0o0o0o0

A naked Cam lie on his side, propped up on his elbow as he watched his fiancée while she slept. With his free hand, he caressed her shoulder, wondering what their future would be like. She had already been through so much pain with trying to reach out to Adria, and having her daughter spurn each attempt before Ascending. Gazing at her with worry, he lowered his lips to kiss her shoulder, whispering,

"It's gonna be ok, baby. You're not doing this alone... don't shut me out."

He then slipped his arm around her waist, snuggling up to her as he kissed her neck. He continued to watch her as he smoothed her bare stomach beneath the sheets, hoping that things would work out for them.


	2. Chapter 2

Daniel stood behind Walter's chair in the control room, overlooking the gateroom of the SGC. The Archaeologist, his arms folded across his chest, was waiting for SG-3 to return from a mission, hoping to catch the Archaeologist who had accompanied them. He hadn't had much in the way of time recently to carry out his usual duties in off-world archaeology and linguistics, what with the situation with the Ori, not forgetting too the messy politics and in-fighting of both the Lucian Alliance and the Free Jaffa; and he had hoped that he could take advantage of a 'quiet' couple of hours, by his standards anyhow, to actually begin to feel remotely like the man he had started at the SGC as, rather than the soldier that he now almost saw himself as.

He sighed quietly as he thought that in a week's time, he and Sam, Mitchell and Vala, Jack and Sara... and maybe even Teal'c and Ish'ta – should his Jaffa team-mate give in to Jack's repeated persuasions – would all be married. It had been pretty tough to even get this far, and he knew that things weren't going to get better any time soon what with their primary enemies continuing their fanatical crusade across the Milky Way, and the Ori galaxy. And that was without taking into consideration what Atlantis was dealing with.

They had agreed by common consent that honeymoons would be out of the question... for the active members of SG-1 at least.

It would be worth it though, he thought. All their stress and worries would all prove to be for naught, hopefully, and he and Sam would finally be husband and wife. He smiled slightly as he thought of Sam, and how much more stressed she had been over the past few months – how she, Vala and Sara had had repeated fallings-out over small details in their, as Mitchell had began to call them, weekly covens.

The sound of the 'gate activating shook him out of his thoughts, and he looked at the 'gate moving and clunking into life as the Iris immediately covered the rippling surface of the event horizon. As Landry joined them, Daniel nodding in greeting at the General, Walter called,

"Receiving IDC, Sir... it's SG-3."

Landry cleared his throat and said, "About time. Let 'em through."

"Yes, Sir."

The Iris almost immediately opened, the event horizon appearing to illuminate part of the gateroom as SG-3 returned through it. Daniel was about to leave the control room to intercept a colleague when something stopped him. At the foot of the ramp as the 'gate deactivated, he saw an elderly man with long light grey hair and a long beard of the same hue. The man wore long silver robes and carried a long white staff that was studded with light blue jewels around the top of it.

The man looked straight up at Daniel with a determined expression on his face, and then he looked behind him at the Stargate, raising his free hand in its direction. Daniel frowned as he stared at the man, recognising him to be Merlin.

A hand on his shoulder startled him, and he looked to his right to see a worried Landry who had called his name several times prior to the contact. "Doctor Jackson?"

Daniel quickly looked back at the gate ramp and saw nothing but an Airman sweeping it. He frowned, and Landry asked, "Doctor Jackson, what's wrong?"

Daniel, still frowning, asked as he looked back at the General, "You didn't just see an old man in long robes down there did you?"

When Landry looked at him as though he had just asked him which Hilton sister he preferred, Daniel shook his head and muttered, leaving the control room, "Thought not."

0o0o0o0o0o0

Cam casually wandered into Daniel's office, his hands stuffed into his pockets, to find Vala sat on the desk, intently reading a book from a pile that propped up her left elbow. Cam frowned, wondering what reality he had slipped into, and he remarked,

"Haven't seen you so into a book since Sam got you all those Harry Potters last Christmas."

Vala raised a finger, indicating for him to wait a moment as she continued to read, and he folded his arms across his chest, watching her with barely concealed amusement as she finished what she had been reading. She looked up and said with a shrug as she hopped off the desk,

"Thought I may as well start pulling my weight around here... not that that's going to be a difficult enterprise seeing as I'm..." she seductively ran her hands down her waist, feigning innocence, all the time aware of Cam's eyes on her. "... rather slender anyway..."

He rolled his eyes in exasperation. "We're at work."

She shrugged again and grinned at him as she hugged him around the waist. "I know. It's just fun testing your rather dubious self control."

He smiled as he held her, and he asked, glancing at the open door and hoping for all the world that Landry wouldn't take that opportunity to walk past, "What's with the books?"

She sighed as she rested her head against his chest. "You know... Daniel has all those books... I was just curious." she looked up at him mischievously. "I thought they would be full of pictures of naked women, but it turns out they're all full of pictures of naked men. Now, I'm not one to complain..."

He shook his head in disbelief and she went back to the desk, her voice a little less playful. "I like Emily Dickinson... she has a nice writing style... and Charles Dickens." she looked up at Cam as he, bemused, followed her. "Do you think SG-1 have encountered him in their previous travels?"

He shrugged as he turned over a copy of Homer's Odyssey to read the back cover. "Wouldn't surprise me in the least... although I have it on good authority that they haven't."

"Hm. Shame."

He chuckled and looked at the haphazard pile of fictional material on Daniel's desk. He asked, glancing at her, "Don't you think that you ought to put them back before Jackson comes back? You know how he gets about you being in his office."

She remarked brightly, waving dismissively, "Oh, he's ok with it... otherwise he wouldn't let me be in his office all alone."

"He doesn't. Actually, I seem to remember him making a habit of locking it... after that thing with the Aztec sculpture... chiefly, the breakage of said sculpture."

"Well then, that means that I don't have to put them back." she shrugged with a mischievous smile. "He'll do it anyway when he catches me here and throws me out."

0o0o0o0o0o0

Sam looked up from her PC at her lab, a phone to her ear as she talked to Bill Lee, to see Daniel leaning in her doorway, a troubled look on his face. Concerned, she waved at him, partly in greeting and partly as a means to invite him in, and she said into the phone,

"Ok... uh-huh. Look, I'll call you back, Bill. Team meeting. Yeah." she chuckled nervously. "Ok. Well, it sounds more professional and is a better alibi than saying my boyfriend's here. Ok, talk to you later." she put the phone down and asked as she looked up at Daniel, noticing him fiddling with a device on her lab table,

"Daniel? Are you ok?"

She got up to close the door, and he replied, turning around so that his lower back was resting against the lab table, "I saw Merlin in the gateroom."

She faced him, asking in confusion, "Merlin? As in... formerly Ascended Merlin?"

He nodded, looking strained, and she, worried, hugged him, asking as he rested his head against her shoulder, his eyes closed, "Did anyone else see him?"

He shook his head, whispering glumly as he held onto her, "I've finally gone nuts. They'll be putting me in Nick's old home before the week is out."

She smoothed the back of his head. "Hey, don't say that." she kissed the tip of his ear. "We've all been stressed with the big wedding... maybe it's coming out differently in you. You always have to be unique." she couldn't help but smile at that, and he sighed.

"Maybe."

Suddenly, his eyes still closed, the darkness was replaced by a vivid image of a flat-topped mountain collapsing in a huge explosion. The image changed to a dark box opening, a huge beam of light shooting out of it, and then nothing as everything faded into darkness within seconds of the start of the vision.

Sam, who had felt him tense up and had heard him gasp, asked as she looked down at him in her arms, "Daniel?" Even more worried when he didn't reply, she held him by his upper arms and tried to look into his face. "Daniel?"

At last, he opened his eyes with a gasp, and, breathless from his vision, murmured, his eyes appearing to look straight through her,"_Armeria verimas._" He finally focussed on her worried face and said, looking scared, "The Ark of Truth. We have to find it – it's our only hope."

"Our only hope against what?"

He looked at her, apprehension and determination duelling in his eyes. "The Ori."


	3. Chapter 3

General Landry strode into the briefing room, having just taken a detour to the Infirmary. Four fifths of his flagship team got to their feet from their seats around the briefing table, the remaining fifth currently being examined in the Infirmary by his daughter, Carolyn, and the base's Psychologist. His face only showing a small fraction of the true anxiety he was feeling for the team's Archaeologist and Linguist, he nodded at the rest of the team in greeting and said before as he sat down in his usual place at the head of the table, gesturing with his hands briefly,

"At ease."

The team sat down, and the General looked at Sam, who was doing her best to look professional but her eyes gave away, as they usually did, the true state of her emotions. Landry said, his hands clasped in front of him on the table in front of him as he leaned forward, now intrigued at the scrapes that only SG-1 – and Daniel – appeared to get into,

"Colonel, what can you tell me about Doctor Jackson's... visions? He's not being exactly forthcoming about it, and both Carolyn and Doctor Hutchinson are trying to understand what's happening."

Sam nodded, her hair tied up in a ponytail. "Well, Sir. It's understandable. He was worried that he might be going mad, but the recent visions have led him to believe otherwise."

As the others exchanged concerned looks, Landry asked, his eyebrows going up a micro fraction as he considered the possibility of SG-1 being down one man, one very important man during such a critical time, "What do you think?"

She grimaced. "Personally Sir, I don't think he is. Initially I thought that it may have been stress due to everything he's been through in the past year with Adria and Merlin... and what with the wedding coming up." She looked at Landry, looking ready to get up. "If I may, Sir."

Landry nodded in acquiescence. "Go ahead, Colonel."

Sam got up and activated her laptop as Teal'c got up to switch the lights off, and everyone turned to face the front as an image of Jonas Quinn was projected onto the whiteboard at the front of the room. Sam stood to one side and gestured to the image,

"Teal'c, you may remember... and Cam, I'm sure you've read the reports for this." Cam and Teal'c nodded as Vala looked from the screen to them and back again, looking bored and then suddenly interested. "About five years ago, during the time that Daniel was among the Ascended, Jonas began to experience visions of the future... or rather, different _futures_, which started off a chain of events which ultimately led to the then Colonel O'Neill, and Teal'c managing to escape an ambush off-world. These visions were unpredictable and with some of them, it wasn't clear as to what would have to happen first for a certain vision to become reality."

She sighed quietly as the image changed to one of an MRI scan showing a side view of a human brain. She picked out a small dark spot with a laser pointer near the front of the right lobe, and Cam asked, frowning as he tried to remember the precise details from the reports pertaining to the incident, "Wait... is that..."

Sam nodded. "It's a brain... Jonas' brain. This was the first scan that Doctor Frasier conducted. You can see the spot here." Several images flicked onto the screen consecutively, the dark spot progressively growing larger. She looked at her friends, looking concerned. "The source of Jonas' visions was a tumour situated near the top of the right frontal lobe. The right side of the brain processes images and feelings, whereas the left processes logic. The tumour was made up of ordinary human brain tissue, but with neurons five times more densely packed than normal, suggesting that perhaps Jonas had developed a higher brain function via the tumour, which then allowed him to see what he had. Doctor Frasier hypothesised that perhaps this was a legacy of what Nirrti had subjected him and his people to."

The image changed to one of another MRI scan but with a different head shape and minus any dark spots. Next to it was a colourful image of a brain from the top, the different colours indicating varying degrees of energy consumption. Sam said after a brief pause to collect her thoughts,

"Daniel's preliminary MRI came back clean... _but..._" she gestured to the colourful image. "... his PET scan shows abnormal activity in the frontal region of the brain." She gesticulated with her hands as the screen went blank and Cam got up to switch the lights back on. "Jonas' visions had a concrete cause – a tumour as a result of generations of genetic manipulation and engineering on Nirrti's part." She looked at the General. "Perhaps Daniel's visions could be a legacy of the year he spent with the Ancients... perhaps a suppressed memory. We still don't know much about that period."

Vala raised a hand as Cam looked at his fiancée sceptically, Teal'c raising an eyebrow. "Ooh. I know... he didn't like the Ancients... how they went about doing things."

Sam smiled briefly and nodded politely. "Apart from that." What she was about to say died on her lips as Daniel walked in, the Archaeologist not wearing his glasses, and she looked at him in concern. Cam asked, looking concerned too as he looked up at Daniel from his seat,

"Jackson, you done with Doctor Death and the Tooth Fairy?"

When Landry looked at him reprovingly, the Colonel shrugged, and Daniel nodded, remarking, "For the time being." He pulled a memory stick from the pocket of his fatigue jacket, saying to Landry, glancing at Sam,

"General?"

Landry sighed, waving dismissively. "Go ahead... we've already been through Colonel Carter's scientific hypotheses."

Daniel couldn't help but smile briefly as he made his way to the laptop and Sam, slightly embarrassed, went to switch the lights off, asking as she sat down again, "Where's your glasses?"

The General and the rest of the team noticed how drained Daniel looked as he replied distractedly, typing into the laptop, "I'm fine... I know what you guys look like so I don't need to squint... and I've memorised these slides. I could do this presentation blind-folded."

Cam glared across the table at Vala again when she remarked, ever so slightly amused until she noticed Cam's expression, "Kinky."

Daniel looked in her direction for a moment, staring at her blankly, and she rolled her eyes. Cam then looked at Teal'c seated next to him, muttering, "Presentation? The guy was in the Infirmary."

Daniel cleared his throat, glancing in Cam's direction before beginning as his focus moved more towards Landry. "I think I may have found a cause of these visions that I've been having." He suddenly frowned and looked at Sam, remembering something.

"Sam?"

Sam tossed her laser pointer to him and he caught it in his fist, smiling faintly in thanks before continuing, "They were just nightmares... or so I thought until I began to have them during the day too. They have been growing in vividness, and the overall composition of these _visions_ has been a box_... _or a chest opening, and a bright light coming out of the chest. And then an exploding mountain. Just recently, they've become vivid enough for me to see Merlin stood in front of the chest as it opened... and somehow I knew what the chest was..."

A slide appeared on the whiteboard, showing a line of Ancient letters, and Daniel highlighted each letter with the laser pointer. "_Armeria verimas. _It's Ancient... and loosely translated... it means 'Ark of Truth'. If my research is accurate, this could be it... this could be what we're looking for... to stop the Ori forces once and for all."

Cam sighed, looking frustrated as he covered his nose and mouth with his hands, and he was about to speak, when Landry asked, looking intrigued, "What does it do?"

The slide changed to a drawing of an elaborate looking dark box, and Daniel glanced at the image. "There is a mention in some Ancient inscriptions I found on Dakara last time we went... and in the Asgard archives, of a device that an Alteran scientist invented. The device, or the Ark, was built with the intention of turning the tide on the rising power of the Ori. It was intended to essentially indoctrinate them with... _the truth_. The Alterans however chose not to use it because of their steadfast belief that freedom of will should prevail... they acknowledged the device's great potential but they may have also been scared by that same power, lest it be turned against them." he looked around at his friends. "The Ark of Truth, if it exists..." he sighed as he gestured expansively with his hands. "... it could change everything. It could stop the crusades and the bloodshed and the oppression..."

Cam cleared his throat and raised his hand briefly. "Wait a second... this is mass indoctrination we're talking about. Giving people back their free will and letting them see the Goa'uld for what they really were was one of the things that changed the tide of the war against them."

Daniel sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Look, I'm not saying it's right." He looked at Cam. "It's a way... and for the time being, the only way that we have."

Landry nodded and thanked the Archaeologist before the latter took a seat in between Sam and Vala, the dark-haired alien touching his forearm in concern. Landry then asked as he processed what he had been told,

"How do you explain the presence of the visions?"

Sam and the others looked at Daniel in renewed interest as he replied, glancing down, "Merlin."

Sam said, looking even more worried, "But he's dead."

Daniel nodded, raising a finger briefly. "I had his consciousness inside of me... I even exhibited abilities similar to the ones Jack did when he'd downloaded the Ancient Repository into his head the second time. What if Merlin had left a latent memory in my head prior to his consciousness dying inside of me? It would explain..."

Sam shook her head. "But it's highly unlikely."

"Why?"

"Well... for one thing, Merlin was an Ancient who retook human form... but he retained Ancient knowledge in his head. Now surely if the Others allowed him to do that, to carry that knowledge, there must have been some rules with regard to divulging it. We're talking about knowledge that could change the course of human development far faster than even the Stargate program has. The Ancients have laws against downright intervention."

Daniel couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Sam... it's not downright. _Downright _would be him... or Morgan appearing right now and telling us the exact location of the Ark." Vala looked around the room just in case Daniel had tempted fate. "When the preprogrammed restoration in my DNA occurred, destroying Merlin's consciousness and returning my body to the state it was in prior... um... before I was turned into a Prior, it's not impossible for some knowledge to have stayed behind... just a small amount. I doubt that it ever really did take everything."

Sam sighed. "Even so... what's to say that this isn't just the product of your subconscious mind?"

Daniel raised an eyebrow, his voice getting dangerously low. "I saw Merlin in the gateroom... I've never hallucinated like that before. And besides, if it was the product solely of my subconsciousness, why would I have the same visions over and over again? Surely there would be some marked variance?"

Cam, sensing that things might get out of hand but also curious as to what Daniel had just revealed, held up his hands for a moment. "Whoa, hold those horses... you saw Merlin... in the gateroom?"

Daniel nodded, replying, his gaze lowered, "Minutes before I had the big vision in Sam's lab."

Cam stared at him for a moment and then said, glancing at Vala and then at Landry, "I think this might be worth looking into, Sir..."

Teal'c immediately jumped in, not giving Cam a chance to finish as he asked, "Would not a return to Dakara be the most logical step to take?"

Daniel nodded as Vala looked at him in concern, Sam too. "Yeah..." he looked at Landry. "... We know, Sir, that Dakara is the first place the Alterans landed in the Milky Way, so perhaps..." he shrugged. "... it could be there."

Landry nodded once again and replied, looking dubious, "Understood, Doctor Jackson." He looked at the Archaeologist, his eyes silently assessing the younger man before he said, "If we know about the Ark..."

Cam said, looking at Daniel critically, "_If_ this exists in the first place... surely the Ori forces would know about their supposed kryptonite and stop at nothing to find it and destroy it... or exploit it."

Landry said, looking at Cam and then at Daniel, "Which is why we've got to get there first, Colonel." He stood up and the others immediately stood too. "SG-1, I'm authorising an urgent mission to Dakara at 1700 hours..." he looked around at the four slightly disappointed faces and the one that remained impassive. "... which should give you enough time to sort things out amongst yourselves. Dismissed."

Daniel piped up. "With all respect Sir, it could take days... weeks even..." everyone else exchanged troubled glances, and Landry replied with a sigh, making a mental note to ring Jack,

"It remains our only viable option."

The General left the briefing room for his office, and SG-1 stared at each other in the silence that followed as the magnitude of the situation hit them as well as a sense of manifold destiny. Vala was eventually the first to break the silence as she looked from Cam to Daniel and back again.

"Wait... the wedding's next week. If this takes days or weeks..."

Cam nodded, looking at Daniel, a challenging gleam in his eyes for all of a moment before he grimaced and looked down at the table. Teal'c said sternly before leaving the room with a nod,

"This is far greater than us all. We must proceed with this mission to stop the pernicious crusades and the oppression that is blighting the lives of many throughout two galaxies. It is only a matter of time before a large scale attack is launched on the Earth. Matrimonial ceremonies can be postponed and rescheduled; this cannot."

Sam sighed, remarking with a slight raise of her eyebrows, "He's right."

Cam retorted, shaking his head, "Well, it's ok for him – him and blonde Xena are just guests 'cos they're still at the homicidal stage of their relationship. What is it about Jaffa lovin'?"

Vala chuckled softly. "They're incredibly violent lovers when they want to be..." she smiled, feigning innocence as Cam glared at her. "... and that's all I'll say on the matter."

Daniel grimaced as disturbing images of Teal'c as well as Ish'ta began to filter into his consciousness. "Good." He looked at Sam, who nodded, knowing what he was going to ask, and he placed a hand over hers, their hands resting on the back of a chair. He looked at Cam and Vala and said,

"Look... I..." Sam squeezed his hand and he glanced at her. "... _we... _don't want to ruin things for you guys. You two, and Jack and Sara can still get married." He shrugged. "Sam, Teal'c and I can go... we've been a three-man team before now."

Cam and Vala instantly objected before exchanging another glance, this time a surprised one, and Cam said, cocking his head as he glared at Daniel, "Hey... come on... that's just splitting the band up... which is just _wrong_. You're gonna need us all... and how the hell are we gonna be happy being stuck here while you're facing off Ori soldiers off-world? We can't let that happen... and anyway, I don't think General O'Neill's gonna want to go through with it without you at least."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

A little later, a once more bespectacled Daniel walked into Sam's lab, having come from another medical examination – this one for the upcoming mission – and took a seat near hers, watching the oblivious Colonel work... or at least try to work. When she sighed in frustration as she worked on her PC, he said quietly,

"I'm sorry."

She looked over at him, startled, remarking as she eventually smiled, a hand to her chest for a moment, "Daniel... I didn't hear you come in."

"I know... didn't want to disturb you."

She switched the computer off and turned to face him, holding his hands as she asked, looking worried as well as a little amused, "What are you sorry for this time?"

He grimaced a little as he looked down at their hands, and he exhaled. "For my behaviour in the briefing room. It was uncalled for. We're all pretty stressed about everything... and this hasn't helped matters." He raised his eyebrows deprecatingly. "So I'm also sorry for getting us all bundled off on a mission in a couple of hours."

She looked disturbed that he was apologising, and he met her gaze. "I just need to know one thing, Sam... just one thing."

Looking increasingly worried, she asked, "What?"

"Do you believe me?"

She frowned in confusion at the question and the way that he looked at her earnestly. "Of course I do."

He nodded, looking a little more relieved as he gave her hands a squeeze. "That's all I needed to know." He shook his head, his eyes closed as he looked down again. "Sometimes I don't believe me... I just..." he sighed, opening his eyes. "... what if I am really mad and I've essentially killed everyone because General Landry trusts me enough to send us all to Dakara like this?"

She looked stunned at his self-doubt despite knowing him so well. "Oh... Daniel. No, of course not. It's not blind faith, believe me... you argued your case very well. If anything, I'm sorry for arguing with you about the veracity of the visions."

"I'd be more worried if you'd just accepted my crazy talk without question."

He reached out to touch her cheek and said softly, knowing that with all probability they could actually die during the next mission, the odds seeming higher than ever before now that they were following a lead on something so dangerous, "Sam. If we..."

She shook her head, knowing what he was about to say but not wanting to hear it. "I know." Her eyes moist, she reached out to touch his cheek gently, stroking his jaw as they sat close enough to each other that their knees were touching. "Me too... with everything that I have." They gazed at each other for a moment before she slipped her arms around his neck and kissed him. He held her in his arms, memorising every detail of her, the feel of her body in his arms, the taste of her kisses, the feel of his fingers in her hair; storing away the memories for the no doubt tough times that lie ahead of them and the rest of the team.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Meanwhile, Cam and Vala lie in bed in the Colonel's quarters on-base, one of Cam's arms holding Vala close to him as the other was bent and under his head. He remarked as his hand moved over her bare torso, the Colonel looking thoughtful,

"That's part of why I like being on SG-1... Jackson makes a seemingly wild guess which then turns out to have a basis in reality... and we go on adventures across entire galaxies..."

She looked up at him, looking troubled as she noticed how distant his gaze was. "You don't look particularly happy about it."

He sighed. "I am... it's just that it couldn't have come at a worse time... but it's so much bigger than us... than all of us. It's our responsibility to do this. T was right... it really is only a matter of time before we get surrounded by ships, like the Earth in that alternate universe that Sam disappeared into not long after Adria took Jackson."

She nodded, staring up into the darkness of the room as she wistfully thought of her daughter. She sighed, closing her eyes as she turned to face Cam, her head now under his chin, and he said softly, worried at her demeanour, "Hey..."

She shook her head, her eyes still closed as her voice sounded strained. "Sometimes I think I could have tried harder to reach Adria. The fact that she kept trying to reach me... I just thought that there was some humanity in her, but I was wrong. She's... evil through-and-through."

He rubbed his hand up and down her upper arm and he kissed her hair, resting his cheek against it. "It's not your fault, Vala... she's just a tough cookie. Scratch that... she's a cookie in ten coats of super glue."

She chuckled humourlessly, her hand slowly moving on his chest. "That certainly is a _tough_ cookie."

"I'll say." He turned over to look at the clock on the nightstand, and he said, turning back to her. "We better get dressed soon otherwise we'll be late... and Landry's gonna be in a foul mood if we're late again."

"Hm." She exhaled, slipping an arm around his waist as she rested her head against his chest. "Just one more minute. I don't want to forget this."

Knowing that she was at least as worried as he was about the odds of coming home again, he kissed her, his fingers tangled in her hair. "We won't, baby."


	4. Chapter 4

On Dakara, after the day's preliminary explorations and excavations, Daniel sat in the balmy night by himself, his BDU jacket folded at his side. He looked up at the stars, the constellations being a little different to the star patterns visible from Earth, and he sighed. They hadn't had any luck earlier with regard to the location of the Ark, or whether he was even chasing a solid lead. He chuckled to himself humourlessly – if this was all for naught, he may have started off a mission in a war zone for nothing; he may have needlessly dragged the team away from their impending nuptials – except for Teal'c of course who had made it quite clear that he had no intention of marrying Ish'ta any time soon; and he may have endured a lot of insults from Jack for nothing, the General having seen the team off prior to his own planned visit to Atlantis.

He, grimacing as he felt a new low, took his glasses off and exhaled. He then sensed a presence to his left and he put his glasses back on before looking up to see the looming figure of Teal'c in the darkness, the Jaffa looking down at him with a mild look of concern on his face. Daniel, smiling slightly, budged up on the part of the ruins that he had been sitting on, inviting his team-mate to sit down, and Teal'c did so. The Jaffa said when Daniel took to looking up at the sky again,

"You cannot lose hope, DanielJackson."

Daniel grimaced again and asked quietly, looking down, "But what if I've led you all out here for nothing?"

"That is not possible."

Daniel laughed self-deprecatingly. "Right."

"We will locate the Ark and bring about an end to the enslavement that the Ori and their forces have inflicted on the inhabitants of the Milky Way and of the Ori home galaxy... there is no doubt."

Daniel looked across at his friend, seeing the conviction in amongst the age-old wisdom in the man's eyes, and he patted Teal'c's forearm. "Thanks, Teal'c."

Teal'c bowed his head a little. "It is nothing." He patted Daniel on the shoulder. "Get some rest, DanielJackson – we have a long day before us."

Daniel nodded as Teal'c got up to return to SG-1's encampment. "In a minute. 'night, Teal'c."

"Goodnight, DanielJackson."

As the Jaffa walked away, Daniel couldn't help but smile as he returned his gaze from his friend's retreating figure to the stars once again as he remembered how they as a team had managed to get Teal'c to say 'goodnight' instead of 'I bid you a pleasant and peaceful night.' Closing his eyes, he rubbed his neck and then groaned quietly as he straightened out the kinks in his neck, rotating his head from side-to-side.

He looked up on hearing someone else to see a worried looking Sam with her hair down, and without her BDU jacket. He grimaced a little as he looked down. He had stayed out here to think – he hadn't wanted her to get worried. She sat down next to him, much closer than Teal'c had, and she interlaced her fingers with his, her head resting on his shoulder. He gazed down at her and smoothed her cheek with his other hand.

"I'm sorry."

"Come on, Daniel... less of that. We're on a mission."

He shook his head, resting her head against hers, and she looked down at the hand that she held. She removed her fingers from his and stroked the back of his hand as her brow furrowed ever so slightly with worry. "Daniel. It's not a wild goose chase. We'll find it."

He, not surprised that she knew without being told why he was worried, said softly, "But what if we don't? I have schizophrenia in my family history... after everything we've been through, after everything we've seen, what makes you so sure that I'm not nuts?"

She countered, amused at his self-doubting, "What if after everything... you're not? And besides, you'd make a very convincing argument if you were nuts or not."

"Exactly."

"But..." She looked up at him and caressed his brow. "Daniel, come on, how many times have you been absolutely completely wrong when you've found the smallest of clues? Take Merlin for instance. Oh... and let's not forget that you knew about the Goa'uld in principle before you'd even set eyes on that cover stone."

Feeling sad on seeing his gaze drop as he was no doubt thinking of Sha're and once again blaming himself for her fate, Sam kissed him on the cheek. "Come on Daniel... get some sleep."

He looked at her as she straddled the section of the ruins that he was sitting on. "I don't want to... there's just so much to think about and..."

She rolled her eyes, knowing his other main reason for not wanting to sleep. "We only brought five tents so General Landry would be happy when he sees them in the morning MALP transmission. He knows that we'll be sharing... he just doesn't want all the stress with the IOA poking their noses in." As he cradled her jaw in his hand, gazing at her tenderly, she remarked with a grin,

"And Cam and Vala are bunking together."

He remarked dryly, "Why doesn't that surprise me?"

"So much for our professional CO, huh? Well, to give them both credit, they started out in separate tents but then Vala had a nightmare about Adria."

Daniel frowned in worry again, about to get up as he remembered Vala coming to talk to him on base during his long nocturnal work spells to confide in him about nightmares and such. "Is she ok?"

Sam replied as she stood too, "Yeah, she's fine... her and Cam are talking in his tent." She looked away from him, back to SG-1's camp site in the middle distance, and he, troubled at the tense tone of her voice, said,

"Sam."

She looked back at him, and he said, gazing at her in the starlight, "Sam... she is only a friend."

She nodded, looking a little less tense but a bit more embarrassed. "I know... I don't like being jealous sometimes, but I guess it's a natural reaction... like when you see me in the Commissary with Cam and Teal'c."

"I'll admit that I get jealous sometimes... but they're like brothers to both of us. Well, in Teal'c's case, he's a much older brother."

They laughed. Her laughter faded as she said, gazing at him in worry. "It's just that you're so close to her... I shouldn't be like that, I know, because we're far closer... and the team is really close too."

He threaded his fingers through her hair, smoothing it gently. "Sam... come on, don't do this to yourself." He remembered how he had at one point during their relationship thought that she had had feelings for Jack and immediately felt guilty that she was apologising. "If it helps, when Jack dropped in before we went to meet Thor, I was sorely tempted to punch his lights out even though we'd resolved all that... I knew that you two had had a history that, ok, wasn't quite a history, but you know what I mean..." He stroked her cheek. "I overcame that... and I think you will too... because in reality, it's all nothing."

She hugged him, her arms around his waist as she rested her head against his chest. She smiled. "It is nothing. I guess I'm just PMS'ing."

He chuckled as he gazed down at her, playing with her hair. "Should I hide everything that could be converted into a missile?"

"I think I'm past that."

"Ah, weepy then." He kissed her hair, feeling little better about himself and what they were going to do before he winced when she punched him in the arm. "Come on, let's go... more digging tomorrow, Colonel-Doctor."

She chuckled as she let him go, reaching for his hand as they began to walk back to the camp site, negotiating the rubble and remnants of the surrounding site being blown up by Adria many months ago. "Oh, joy."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Vala looked up at the roof of the tent on hearing footsteps in the gravel bed outside, and Cam, lying next to her, his hands under his head, said on seeing her get his P-90 out, "Relax. It's just T." He called, "Hey T, is Jackson ok?"

Vala, looking a little on edge, put the P-90 back on hearing Teal'c reply, his shadow visible through the tent against the camp fire in the centre of the encampment, "He is indeed, ColonelMitchell."

"Cool." He called past Vala, through the wall of his tent. "Hey Sam, you wanna check on Jackson? He'll be more likely to actually come back with you." He muttered under his breath, glaring in the middle distance. "No wonder O'Neill went grey early."

He squeezed Vala's hand, seeing her still look worried as Sam called back, Cam and Vala hearing her tent unzip, "I was on my way anyway... see ya later." They heard her trudge noisily through the gravel, away from their tent, and Cam called to Teal'c,

"T, it's not too late to get some shut-eye."

Teal'c replied, the sound of his voice coming from the vague direction of the fire, "It has already been settled, ColonelMitchell – I will have first watch."

"You can change your mind though."

"That will not be necessary... but thank you for your concern."

"A'right."

Cam finally settled down next to Vala again and remarked, gazing at her, "Stubborn as ever, huh?"

She smiled and rested her head on his chest with a sigh, her smile gone. His smile instantly vanished as he became even more worried about his fiancée. He threaded his fingers through her thick dark hair, holding some of it up to the dim lantern light, waiting for her to speak. She eventually did, quickly turning her head over so she was looking up at him as he let go of her hair.

"What if Adria comes here? We're not prepared."

"Hey, that's quitter talk. She's all Ascended... she won't give a shit about what we could find. And if your ex's boss shows up, we've got the anti-Prior device. We're gonna be fine." They kissed and he asked, looking at her in worry as he resumed playing with her hair,

"You feeling better?"

She nodded. "Still on edge but..." she shrugged. "I don't like not knowing whether Adria's all right... but then I know that the next time we cross paths, she's more likely to blow me up than be reasoned with. She almost poisoned Daniel with engine coolant last time."

"Baby, let's face it, she's just evil. The part of her that wanted your acceptance is long gone."

She nodded, tears pricking her eyes as her voice trembled slightly. "I know. It still hurts, Cameron. You wouldn't understand – you're not a mother. A part of me is always going to hope that she stops what she's doing and sees what she's done for what it is. I mean, I did that... I had a Goa'uld inside of me..." her face hardened with anger as she remembered being subjugated by Qetesh in her own body many years previously, committing unspeakable acts of carnage and malevolence... and then, after being freed, being on the run until she had come back to the SGC after giving birth on an Ori ship, "... I did things... terrible things..."

"This is different from that..."

"I know, I know... she's _all_ evil... My point is that when I came to the SGC, after everything that had happened... being on the run... stealing things... coming to Earth to see Daniel... and being stranded on Ver Isca... I changed. I became a better person... I saw the error of my ways. I changed." She began to cry softly, and he, hurt at not only her pain but also that he couldn't help her as much as he would like, whispered as he kissed her,

"Vala... you're different. You're a good person. Adria was born into evil... there's nothing you could have done to save her."

"That's what hurts the most, Cameron. I'm her mother."

He wrapped his arms around her as her crying subsided, and he held her close, whispering, "I'm sorry, Vala... I can't help you... I don't know what to do or to say or..." She silenced him with a kiss, and as she gazed down at him, this time with a smile, she replied,

"You're helping me, Cameron... a lot, just by being here." She kissed him again, her fiancé participating this time and rolling them over as she began to laugh as they both paused briefly to check that they hadn't been heard. "Thank you."


	5. Chapter 5

Cam stood in amidst the rubble during the scorching Dakaran midday heat, casually holding his P-90 across his chest as he slipped his sunglasses on. The Colonel, his nose white due to being coated in zinc oxide, took a moment to savour the feeling of the minimal breeze against his bare forearms, his jacket neatly squared away in his tent. Taking a deep breath, he surveyed his surroundings, a wide valley before him dotted with smaller heaps of the rubble that he was standing on. In the middle of the valley floor he could see Daniel, still with his green jacket on, kneeling in the dust as he brushed at a part of the ruins while Teal'c stood over the Archaeologist, occasionally lifting huge pieces of the ruins while Vala looked none too pleased at the heat and the time it had already taken to look for the Ark as she perched on some ruins near to the men.

On making eye contact with Teal'c, Cam tipped his hat at him slightly and the Jaffa nodded in reply, before Cam moved off the ridge that he had been standing on to do his morning perimeter survey. He called into his radio which was attached to his combat vest which he grudgingly wore over his t-shirt,

"Carter, report."

He almost leapt out of his skin when from behind him Sam remarked, "You know... I don't call you 'Mitchell'."

He spun around to face his co-command, who had also forgone her BDU jacket but wasn't wearing sunglasses. "Well, just being professional."

Sam raised an eyebrow in disbelief, her voice teasing. "So I'm not professional? Or I'm not as professional as Colonel Pant Loser?"

"Funny."

"Thought so. Anyway, what do you want?"

He shrugged, pushing up his sunglasses. "Just thought you could use some company while Jackson's doing the Raiders thing."

She exhaled, looking briefly weary as she thought of how stressed out her fiancé had been earlier that morning. "That man... I swear, I don't get that snippy and territorial when my field of expertise is called upon during a mission."

He chuckled as they then walked together along the ridge, both keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary as they kept their P-90s close to their chests. "Well, the only reason he didn't snap at you outright is 'cos he values his manhood." He adjusted his hat . "Anyway, I don't mind not having to do the heavy work for once. I feel for T."

She smirked. "What about Vala?"

He rolled his head to the side to look at her scathingly through his sunglasses. "Actually, I feel for Jackson. Vala gets bored easily." He grumpily took his sunglasses off so that they were hanging around his neck, and then he remarked, "Hey... we've been here for three days now..." He grimaced as he stuck his nose inside his t-shirt as Sam looked a cross between amused and irritated. "... we're getting a little smelly because the nearest lake is contaminated..."

"What's your point?"

"You'd think Adria's cronies would have dropped in by now and given us a chance to split some wigs. Maybe we're looking in the wrong place."

She cocked her head briefly with a sigh. "Maybe the Ark doesn't exist."

He looked at her in surprise. "You don't believe Jackson?"

She shrugged, looking wistful as they negotiated a treacherously rocky path. "I don't know any more... but I guess it's easy for morale to flounder in this situation."

He patted her on the shoulder consolingly, and she said with regard to the Ori forces, the Astrophysicist looking hopeful, "Maybe they don't know we're here."

He chuckled derisively. "No... I get the feeling that they're waiting."

She shook her head, smiling slightly at his enthusiasm for the action aspect of their jobs. "That isn't their style. Anyway you're just itchy to use the Anti-Prior device in the field."

"Well, aren't you, _Samantha_?"

"Not itchy, _Cameron_."

He smiled briefly and then asked, inclining his head in the vague direction of the rest of their team, "Wanna head back, soon-or-whenever-to-be Colonel Jackson?"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"You know... the Ancients know..." Vala raised a finger and waved it as she stared intensely at Daniel's back as she paced the dusty ground behind him as Teal'c looked on, an eyebrow raised. "... they know that if we find this, it could change things and save them as well... why doesn't Morgan Le Fay come down here and help us?"

Daniel, his teeth clenched in frustration at the so-far fruitless quest and his nerves frayed from Vala's noisy boredom, snapped as he shifted a stone slab with a grunt, "Because she may have been descended or punished by the Others for helping us on Atlantis..."

She threw her hands down in frustration. "What about... Oma Desala? She helped you before. Why doesn't she help you now?"

Daniel grimaced angrily. "Because. If she does, she'll no doubt suffer Morgan's fate... whatever that is. I don't like this any more than you do, but we have an opportunity to change things and we should use it. Now less yap-yap and more helping out."

She rolled her eyes and asked heatedly, "What if the Ark isn't here?!" She groaned and sank to her knees next to him as she looked at him entreatingly. "Daniel, come on, wherever it is, it'll still be here after the end of the week. I want to get married to someone that I actually want to marry this time."

He shook his head as he looked at her, his anger fading, leaving sadness on his face, "Don't you think that I want the same thing? If I hadn't had these visions, we'd all be home and getting ready for the big wedding. I didn't want to drag you guys out like this... but now that we're here, we have to find this before the Ori army does. This is way bigger than our weddings. It's a matter of life and death, freedom and slavery for millions if not billions of people across the Milky Way and the Ori galaxy. It's only a matter of time before they launch an all-out attack on Earth like they did in the alternate universe that Sam was stranded in. And who knows what would happen if they got into the Pegasus galaxy?"

She nodded, forlorn as she considered implications that she had already known, and she said, looking disappointed, "I was just hoping that you could have dragged us out here some other time."

He smiled briefly as he gazed at her, his tone softening. "Me too." He patted her on the shoulder. "Come on, the boredom won't be so bad if you help out."

Teal'c remarked with a slight smirk as they both looked up at him and then at each other, "You should attempt to remain standing from dawn until dusk. You would rather be in your present state of clamorous boredom."


	6. Chapter 6

The previous days' heatwave having abated somewhat, Sam and Cam patrolled a part of the Dakaran ruins that surrounded the present dig site, their P-90s still close to their chests. As they passed towering and crumbling stone ruins, Cam groaned as he kicked a piece of rubble, the Colonel looking well and truly fed up. "I'm telling you... I can't take much more of this. It wouldn't be so bad... the heat and the flies and the..." He momentarily scrunched his nose up. "... smell, but those two keep on bickering. You gotta hand it to T for not bashing both their brains out by now."

Sam sighed, raising an eyebrow briefly as she too looked and felt fatigued. "Tell me about it. I didn't want to let it get to me but I couldn't bring myself to share his tent these last couple of nights after hearing him and Vala go for each other's throats every other day..."

"Well, that explains his half of it." He patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry... Landry will get annoyed with our lack of progress and call us back soon..." He continued quietly, "I hope."

She shrugged. "I hope Daniel finds what he's looking for before it comes down to that... he could be onto something."

They simultaneously groaned in exasperation when they heard Vala's voice from somewhere in the distance, the alien sounding tired, "Look at my hands, all right? They are raw and bleeding. I've broken every nail. We've been out here in the scorching heat for days. I haven't showered!"

Cam remarked testily, glancing at Sam, "She thinks _she's_ got problems..."

They rolled their eyes in exasperation on hearing an irritable Daniel, and the beginnings of yet another argument. "None of us have."

"That is painfully obvious. Now, according to you, this crusty old chest is our salvation from oppression at the hands of the Ori army. Our best – and maybe only – remaining chance that we have. We've dug how many holes in the ground? Help me out here, Muscles..."

Cam groaned again and muttered sarcastically. "Sure, drag T into it... after getting him so pissed..."

Sam asked, beginning to look hopeful, "Do you think they've found it?"

"Well, no-one's radioed... let 'em duke it out for a bit."

They sighed as they walked away from the site, the sound gradually fading of Vala and Daniel bickering, when suddenly they both looked up at the sky on hearing something. Cam, his eyes on the sky, nudged Sam, who then pulled out binoculars. She focussed on a small shape in the sky that was rather swiftly getting bigger, and then the Astrophysicist visibly blanched.

"Oh boy."

She passed the binoculars to Cam, who remarked, annoyed, "Somehow I'd choose our old married couple over my fiancée's ex."

Suddenly several Ori fighters were very close, firing upon the ruins near to them as they fired back, Cam calling into his radio as he and Sam ran to strategical points in the ruins, "Hey, kids, guess what?"

He glanced at Sam and continued to fire at several fighters that soared overheard in the direction of the dig site. He continued as he noticed to his dismay that many Ori soldiers had already landed and were now about to launch a ground assault on their position, "We are under fire."

He muttered as he grimaced, now shooting at the advancing soldiers before ducking behind a part of the ruins as Sam did the same, "What I wouldn't do for a staff weapon right about now..."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Meanwhile, as Teal'c took up a firing position near to an entrance to the dig site but not too far away from him, Daniel used the heavy-set ornate metallic box that they had discovered earlier as a firing position. He frowned as he heard the sounds of Ori energy weapon blasts and P-90 bullets which were coming ever closer. Within minutes, Sam and Cam quickly entered the scene, Cam taking up a position behind a fallen stone slab some metres in front of him as Vala joined the Colonel, while Sam took up a position near a pillar in front of Teal'c.

Daniel allowed himself to smile briefly in relief on seeing them both alive after fighting the urge to use his radio earlier to ask after Sam. Forcing himself to focus, his finger tightened around the trigger of the firearm that he held as Sam called from her position,

"There's too many of them!"

Daniel gazed at her for the briefest of moments, knowing that he owed her a big apology when the current situation abated, but he was shaken out of his thoughts by Vala, who looked back at him, gesturing to the box. "How about now?"

Daniel agreed. "Yeah. Now works for me." If this was indeed the Ark, what better way to test it. Sighing, he threw his P-90 to one side before grabbing a hammer and chisel. The Archaeologist got to work as his friends other than Vala kept their firearms trained on the entrance, moments before Tomin's voice was heard.

Daniel, now working faster to open the 'Ark', glanced up at Cam, curious as to how the Colonel would take the return of Vala's husband. He couldn't see his face, but he noticed Cam's shoulders drop for the briefest of seconds. The Archaeologist raised his eyebrows slightly as he continued his inner discourse and physical struggle.

Eventually, he began to surmise that he wouldn't be able to open the box as he wrested with the lid. He began to wonder as he muttered some choice swear words in Abydonian, how, if they were indeed being targeted from space as Tomin had just claimed, the Ori forces hadn't found them sooner. Perhaps this was the Ark. This gave him fresh hope and a new zeal to increase his efforts as Cam gradually became increasingly surly in his retorts to the forces that remained outside for the time being, as well as to Vala.

After a while, after Vala suggested getting the Ori forces to open it and had then invited Tomin and his men into the dig site, Daniel, breathing heavily from his exertion, stood up, dropping his hammer and chisel, and hoping in vain that they could go home very soon. The rest of the team disarmed and loosely gathered around his position seconds before Tomin and his men entered the scene, Daniel catching Sam glancing at him in concern for the briefest of moments.

The soldiers surrounded them, looking ready to fire as Vala stood up, bemoaning then of all times the fact that she hadn't had time to take care of her appearance lately, before she greeted Tomin. Again, Daniel noticed Cam's shoulders drop on seeing a potential rival for his fiancée's affections despite their current situation, and as the Colonel cut an even surlier retort, Daniel glanced at Sam again, who nodded slightly as they and Teal'c too sensed a growing tension between the two men.

Soon afterwards, a Prior strode into the excavation site as Tomin and his men bowed in reverence. To prevent any bloodshed down to Cam's growing belligerence, Daniel replied to the Prior's question with regard to the artefact that they had discovered,

"No, wait, wait. No need to be difficult here. You want to know what it is, I'll tell you. Inside this Ark is the secret to destroying the armies of the Ori, and I think the last thing you're gonna want to do is open it."

"You think I fear the contents?"

Typical Ori arrogance, Daniel thought as he continued with the team's hastily created plan. "I-I'm saying you really should."

The Prior fell into his trap. "Open it."

The soldiers attempted to open it as Daniel continued to protest, but on finding it sealed shut, Tomin aimed his staff weapon at the box as Daniel shouted, "Wait! No!"

Well, it turned out not to be the Ark. Daniel blinked in a disappointed surprise. He, Cam, Sam and Vala had cancelled their weddings for a dead end. Soon, he found himself along with his friends at the business end of a staff weapon, and he idly wondered whether the week could get any worse for the team.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"How have you been?"

Back at the SGC, after the team had each had a good long shower, a change of clothes, and a decent meal, Vala, in combat fatigues, sat next to Tomin in the VIP quarters allocated to him. The now former commander of the Ori forces had been welcomed as a guest after he had returned to the SGC with SG-1 once the Prior had been killed, and Sam had explained to him how the Anti-Prior device worked. Vala sighed as she looked down at her hands and then at him, hurt on seeing the pain on his face.

"Um... quite good actually." She bobbed her head thoughtfully. "Yeah, not too bad."

He tenderly touched her cheek, feeling guilty. "I regret what I did... I was ordered to commit vile atrocities... and I lost you."

She sighed as she gazed up at him. "Look... Tomin, we'll talk later. I think Daniel wants to talk to you about the Ark."

He nodded and then looked around at the interior décor of the quarters as Vala held his hand, and he said, eventually looking back at her with a soft smile, "This is a nice planet."

"Oh, believe me, there's a lot more to it. Cameron took me to a place called Kansas... and..."

His gaze fell and she trailed off, realising that he was hurt. He said, looking at her, regretting his previous service to the Ori, "You and Cameron are intimate, are you not?"

She crossed the fingers of her other hand as Cam did on occasion when he was deliberately telling lies, and she said breezily, not wanting to hurt him even more, "He's a friend."

He bobbed his head sceptically and went back to looking around the room as Vala looked increasingly pensive. "Judging by his increasingly vehement reaction to me, I sense that he is more than simply a friend."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Sam spied Daniel in a corridor, looking purposeful as he strode towards the lifts. She noticed how much calmer he now seemed than he had on Dakara, but he still looked harassed. She called after him as she jogged towards him, "Hey!"

He stopped and turned to her, looking surprised at first before smiling at her as she stood in front of him. "Hey."

She cocked her head in the direction of the lifts briefly. "You going to see Tomin?"

He nodded, looking solemn. "Vala's with him now... and Mitchell's with Landry."

"Oh yeah... there's an IOA rep in town."

He raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Woolsey?"

She shook her head. "No, he's in Atlantis. James Merek. Cam's in an even bigger bad mood."

"I can imagine... the IOA aren't exactly easy to deal with, plus his fiancée's husband is here." He sighed as he looked down as he remembered his previous behaviour, and he then said to her, looking regretful, "Listen, about Dakara..."

She grabbed his hand, startling him momentarily as she led him away. "Come on, let's go to your office."

He protested, admittedly a little scared as well as concerned that if they were going to have an argument, he wouldn't be able to see Tomin for several hours due to the argument and then the resultant grumpiness. "Sam... I've got to..."

She glanced back at him as they entered his office, the Colonel closing the door behind them. "It won't take long."

She backed him up against the closed door and took his glasses off as he frowned at her. She then said, rolling her eyes, "I wanted to kill you on Dakara... and I'm sure Cam and Teal'c felt the same. You and Vala wouldn't stop bickering. Cam took to referring to you two as the team's old married couple."

He shook his head as he looked down. "I'm sorry. It was just so hot and she wouldn't stop moaning... and I kept thinking I'd led you guys out there for nothing. And I think I kind of did... but then Tomin warned us about the plan to send battleships and possibly attack Earth. Ok, so we kind of knew that that was possible, but we know something's going to happen and..." He paused and then closed his eyes as he rested his head back against the door as Sam looked mildly amused. "I know... I'm rambling again."

She, concerned, held his hand as he opened his eyes again. "Have you had any more visions?"

He grimaced a little. "Just a little one. When Tomin blasted the box open... I saw the mountain exploding again. I guess we're getting closer."

She shrugged. "Maybe we are." She looked down at his hand, now looking bewilderingly penitent. "I'm sorry."

He frowned and tilted her face up so that she was facing him once again. "Uh, why? You and Mitchell weren't acting like kids for over a week."

She shook her head as her gaze dropped again. "I lost faith in you. I just got so pissed at you acting the way you did..."

He sighed, nodding in understanding. "Hey, don't worry... I would if I'd treated me the same way that I had treated you... and everyone." He stroked her cheek. "I'm sorry about that. I kept trying to keep my cool but I lost it faster and faster each time... and I pushed you away."

She gently kissed him. "You weren't actually mad at me... that's what counts. I mean, sure, I came close to whacking you over the head a couple of times, and I'm sure Cam did too, but we knew that you were frustrated. We all were."

He asked her, still looking unsure, "We're still ok, right?"

She pushed him up against the door as she kissed him again, a hand lost in his hair as his hands stroked her waist and back. When they parted, he grinned, looking a lot more relaxed. "I'll take that as a 'yes'."

As she looked happy on seeing his mood visibly improve, he asked, "So... can I have my glasses back? Unless you want me accidentally stumbling into the women's locker-room..." He suggestively raised his eyebrows at her, and she rolled her eyes.

"Hey, even if you did with your glasses on, I'd trust you not to gawp." She gave him a quick kiss and then slipped his glasses back on before quickly tidying up his hair and clothes. He rolled his eyes this time, remarking,

"I'm a grown man, Sam... I can sort myself out."

She retorted, an eyebrow raised, "Yes. And if I let you have your way, you'd forget your own head." She opened the door with a straight face as he straightened up. "Now... care to go before someone sends out a search party?" She then smiled and gave him another kiss as he looked amused at her struggling to remain professional.


	7. Chapter 7

Daniel followed Cam out of Landry's office following a less than pleasant meeting with Merek where they were informed that the mission to the Ori galaxy was only approved now that the IOA had signed off on it. Also, Merek would be overseeing the mission. The two men left the briefing room in a frustrated silence, both contemplating what having Merek aboard the Odyssey would entail, the Colonel wondering further whether anyone would notice if he shot the IOA representative. Daniel smirked briefly as he glanced at Cam, knowing that the Colonel would take Landry up on his barely-veiled suggestion that he, as temporary commander of the Odyssey, could make a decision as to what to do with Merek aboard the Odyssey, i.e. confining him to quarters to limit the representative's interference in the mission, for the sake of everyone's sanity and self-esteem.

Out in the corridor, Daniel watched Cam, his face disturbingly neutral, and the Archaeologist said in a conciliatory tone, falling in step with the Colonel, "Hey, at least you get to sit in the chair."

Cam chuckled humourlessly. "Sam's going to be pointing and laughing at me forever."

Daniel smiled briefly in amusement, glancing at him. "I just think it's laughable that you two are scared of a chair."

Cam rolled his eyes and glared at Daniel. "Says you... you've sat in it twice already. Some of us just aren't that power mad. Even Landry felt uncomfortable in it."

Daniel made a noise of disbelief. "Power mad? The first time, your fiancée had stolen the Prometheus... and then the second time, I was a freaking Prior. Both times it was for the greater good."

Cam sighed as he focussed on where they were walking as he remembered hearing from Teal'c that Vala couldn't bear to watch Tomin's interrogation by Merek. Daniel said, glancing at him again and knowing the turn his thoughts had taken,

"Mitchell... they have a history, you know that."

Cam, looking furious, remarked, "Yeah, when's the last time Vala got upset about stuff happening to me? I thought she was happy with me."

Daniel snorted derisively, and when the Colonel glared at him, he shook his head and said, "Sorry. Couldn't help it. That sounded childish." He looked at Cam. "Look, knowing someone's a good person is not in the same field as wanting to, uh, get with them."

The Colonel sounded even more frustrated. "Yeah, but she was... hell, she still is married to the person she knows is a good person."

"Mitchell, at least talk to Vala instead of jumping to all sorts of conclusions."

Cam shook his head, saying quietly. "No. I've got to be focussed... I'll talk to her when I calm down otherwise it'll come to blows... and not the good kind."

Daniel cleared his throat in embarrassment at the Colonel's use of innuendo, and Cam, now looking mildly amused, asked, "Hey, you made up with Sam yet? She doesn't look like she wants to kill you yet, but here's hoping O'Neill will do it when he comes back from Atlantis."

Daniel shot him a nasty look. "We're good. Went to see her before Vala and I talked to Tomin about the Ark."

Cam bobbed his head, looking philosophical and a little more relaxed, his hands in his pockets. "Another mission, huh? And not just that... we get to go to another galaxy." He looked at the Archaeologist teasingly. "You sure know how to dodge weddings in style. Other guys just run away on the big day. You just have to go one up, don't you?"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Vala sat alone in the middle of her bed in her on-base quarters, reading a book, her mind far from what she was reading. Eventually, she looked up at the ceiling, her eyes filling with tears. It had been great, despite the situation, to see Tomin again, but how would she tell him that she was marrying someone else? She couldn't bring herself to do it earlier despite sensing that Tomin already knew that she and Cameron were an item at least. He was already shocked on discovering not only that he had been worshipping false gods, but that those false gods were quite possibly dead.

On top of that, James Merek of the IOA had treated him as though he had had a choice when he had been responsible for all those deaths while in service of the Ori. She knew Tomin... he was a good person. He didn't have a choice. Had he had the choice, he wouldn't have killed. The Ori had made him do things that were against who he was.

Why hadn't Merek picked on Teal'c?

She sniffed and then began to sob, feeling utterly helpless as she felt Cameron drifting away from her, no doubt out of jealousy and bitterness. She had the support of Daniel, Sam and Teal'c, she knew, but that wasn't enough. The one person from whom she needed support, and who have been supporting her, was angry and hadn't said more than two words to her since they had returned from Dakara.

Closing the book, she put it down on the bed and held a pillow in her arms, still crying as she buried her face in it. She squeezed it tight, feeling anguished at the situation, wanting Cameron to be there instead of taking things the wrong way. She wanted to tell him that Tomin's return hadn't changed anything as far as she was concerned.

She looked up at the door, startled, when she heard a knocking, and she quickly dried her eyes, putting her pillow back as she picked up her book again, calling in a strained voice, "Yes?"

The door slowly opened and she blinked in surprise when Cameron peeked into the room. She took one look at him before turning away from him, grabbing her pillow again, her back to him. "What do you want?"

The Colonel quietly closed the door and, worried, sat down next to her. He took the pillow from her, putting it on the bed behind them, and he wrapped his arms around her. She eventually relented, her head resting against his chest, her eyes moist. Nothing was said for a few minutes, and then Cam said as he looked down at her, his arm now around her shoulders as she leaned against him,

"Hey. I'm sorry. I acted like a shit-head earlier."

She sighed and then sat up, looking at him, her eyes red-rimmed. "Cameron. Don't you trust me?"

"That isn't the question here."

"Then, what is? Do you even want to marry me? You hate Tomin? You're jealous?"

He closed his eyes, exhaling as he looked at the ceiling as he faced his own feelings for once. He then said as she looked up at him defiantly, the Colonel seeing the fear in her eyes all the same,

"Ok..." He gently kissed her on the temple. "... yes, yes, and yes." He touched her cheek as she looked confused for the briefest of moments. "I'm sorry. I fucked up. But I know how he feels about you. And, if it makes you happy, I don't like him but I don't hate him, 'cos sometimes I see what you see. I'm just gonna need some time to get things straight in my head." He met her gaze, looking worried. "We're still good, right?"

She finally smiled, holding up her left hand, and he smiled too on seeing the ruby on her ring catching the light. "I'd say we are."

"Good."

He slowly lowered his lips to hers, kissing her softly as she held onto him, his fingers caressing her jaw. He then said, smiling briefly, "I get to sit in the chair."

She raised an eyebrow. "The chair?"

"The commander's chair."

Her eyes widened in surprise and she then said with an encouraging smile, "That's good... isn't it?"

He shrugged, remembering going to see Sam prior to venturing to his fiancée's quarters. "Sam laughed at me when she found out."

She shot him a look. "It's just a chair, Cameron."

He glared back at her. "It's not just a chair. Do you know how big a step it is to be there? Even Landry looks uncomfortable sitting in it."

"So, has General Landry given you command of the ship for the mission?"

He nodded, and she said with a shrug, "It's good. It's going to look good in the future too if you don't screw up." She raised an eyebrow at him teasingly when she said the last few words, remembering how he had said something similar to her when she had first been officially designated as an SG-1 member. He rolled his eyes and then asked, holding the hand that she had rested on his thigh,

"So... what's up?"

She shrugged again and then said quietly, looking down at the floor, "I didn't like Mr Merek talking to Tomin like that. He had no right to. Tomin's a good man. He only did those things because he had no other choice." Looking sad, she rested her head on his shoulder, and he sighed, quietly frustrated.

"I know. We're all pissed about it, but we've got no choice. We've got to bring him along on the mission."

She quickly straightened up, looking hostile as he quickly removed his arm from around her in case it got ripped off judging by the look on her face. "You're joking?"

He shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. But..." He looked at her meaningfully. "... being commander has its perks. For the duration of the mission, that ship belongs to me, and he's not gonna be leaving his quarters... in one piece at least."

She said purposefully, standing up and getting ready to leave the room, "He won't leave here in one piece."

He rolled his eyes and stood up, pushing her down to sit on the bed again. He sat down next to her. "No. I know it's tempting, but he'll find some way to stop us from going on the mission... and we need to now that we know that Jackson's not completely nuts."

She stared at him in disbelief and then asked, looking hopeful, "Can we at least zat him?"


	8. Chapter 8

_Sorry folks – going to be a bit slow updating for the next couple of weeks because of stuff at home, but I want you to know that I do intend to continue this and other stories... but feel free to shout at me all the same if you think I'm being too slow, etc. Thanks for keeping up so far and for the fantastic support and encouragement through reviews and PMs – you've been great. Thank you._

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Walking through the corridors of the Odyssey as the ship went into hyper space, leaving Earth's orbit, Daniel, now in black BDUs, glanced at a similarly dressed Sam next to him, saying with a shrug and the faintest of smiles, "You know, you're right."

Sam chuckled. "Oh come on, Daniel... I'm surprised you needed me to tell you. The guy was just dying to do a Captain Kirk impression. That's why Teal'c's been staying away from him... he didn't want to be called 'Spock' again."

"Ah, so that explains the threat of violence. I thought he was just being colourful."

She scowled at him. "You really can be scarily oblivious sometimes."

He grinned and shrugged. "I try."

She rolled her eyes and then said with a wistful sigh, inclining her head to one side, "I can't see us being able to share quarters just yet."

He raised his eyebrows briefly. "Now that is where you're wrong."

She looked at him, surprised."_I'm_ wrong?"

He feigned innocence. "There, there, you'll get used to it." He winced when she whacked his arm, and he rolled his eyes. "I may have pulled a few strings."

She raised an eyebrow. "How many?"

"You know, this is like a conversation with Jack. You do realise that I was speaking figurativ..." He winced again when she whacked him once more, and he said, holding up his hands placatingly, grinning all the while, "Ok, ok... I don't want you to get to the stage of breaking bones." He dropped his hands and shrugged. "Mitchell was supposed to tell us but he got distracted at the thought of being in 'The Chair.'"

She rolled her eyes and then asked, looking at him accusingly, "Why didn't _you _tell me?"

He shrugged, looking at her over his glasses for a moment with a small smile. "Surprise?"

"You're just lucky I like you."

"I think I am." He exhaled. "Taking into account that we would have been married by now had I not started another spate of missions, General Landry has unofficially approved for us to share quarters. He can't do it officially because Merek would have made even more of a mountain out of everything. Actually, forget the mountain... he would have made an entire solar system out of it."

She raised her eyebrows slowly as she processed what he had just said. "Holy Hannah."

"Exactly." He raised his eyebrows suggestively, and she rolled her eyes at him.

"Surely there are some sort of provisos and whatnot attached? I know he has trouble saying 'no' to us but he's still professional and authoritarian."

He grimaced a little. "No hanky panky."

She frowned at him and asked sceptically, "_Hanky panky?_"

He cleared his throat and said by way of explanation, looking a little embarrassed, "No inappropriate behaviour whilst on duty."

She nodded in understanding, and then asked, now amused, "_Hanky panky?_" She remarked with a chuckle, patting his shoulder as a means to compensate in part for not being able to hold his hand due to the occasional crew member walking past them, "That's what I get for being engaged to a Philologist."

He smiled at her playfully and then said, gesturing to their right when they had reached a corner, "This way."

She looked at him, amused as well as philosophical, and they were about to stop at a door when a very unwelcome voice remarked from behind them, "As I recall, Colonel, Doctor, you are both currently on duty."

They turned around to see none other than Merek, dressed in olive-green SGC coveralls, glaring at them disapprovingly from a few metres away. The IOA representative continued, slowly approaching them, "While Generals Landry and O'Neill went over the heads of the IOA to keep you two and Miss Mal Doran and Colonel Mitchell on this mission due to your collective skills, I would like you to know that any perceived attempt at flouting standard protocol by any member of SG-1 or this ship's crew will be noted and reported when we return to Earth." His eyes narrowed as he raised a hand, making a pinching gesture. "You are that close to losing your jobs."

An annoyed looking Daniel opened his mouth to speak but was stopped by Sam, who touched his forearm. He looked at her as the affronted Colonel squared up to Merek. "Mr Merek. As _I _recall, Colonel Mitchell specifically ordered that you remain in your quarters for the duration of this mission."

Merek looked at her scornfully. "He has no right to. On behalf of the IOA, I am overseeing this mission. I cannot do that if I am locked away while we have a known war criminal on board. You all risk disciplinary action when you return to Earth for allowing the mass-murderer Mr Tomin on board one of Earth's primary assets in planetary defence. If he should sabotage this mission, it will be on your head, not mine."

The representative turned on his heel decisively and stalked away as Daniel physically restrained an incensed Sam. After Merek had disappeared from view, the Archaeologist said as he slowly let his fiancée go, "He's an ass. There's no point wasting time on asses."

She shook her head, staring at where Merek had been before looking back at Daniel. "He shouldn't be allowed to behave like that."

He gently rubbed her upper arm consolingly. "Hey. Mitchell's not going to let him off this ship. We'll retain some part of our sanity."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Daniel, surely you must have noticed by now that I..." She sighed and shook her head. "Never mind." She gestured to the door in front of them. "Is this it?"

He smiled slightly as he opened the door to reveal on-ship quarters and he led her inside. He switched the lights on and she smiled as she looked around the room before looking at him. "Standard design... but it just looks different now, knowing that neither of us are going to be alone tonight."

He nodded and then relaxed as he held her in his arms, away from the prying eyes of the rest of the ship. She closed her eyes, relaxing against him as she murmured, "I bet we had fun during those fifty years."

He rested his cheek against her hair as he rubbed her back slowly, his eyes closed too as he concentrated on how she felt against him, making some more memories for whatever lie ahead of them. "Teal'c still doesn't look happy whenever we ask him about it." He grimaced a little. "I don't think I want to know what happened." He smiled as he opened his eyes, holding her face in his hands as she smiled too, looking up at him. "I'd rather find out what the next fifty years hold for us."

"Me too." Her smile faded and she rested her head against his shoulder. "I'm not sure whether we'll even live through this mission... but I like thinking about the future... our future."

He gently kissed her lips. "It helps during those tough times during missions." He sighed as he looked at her pensively. "Just in case there's any doubt, I do want to marry you, Sam. I know Mitchell's been..."

She smiled and pressed a finger to his lips, silencing him. "You talk too much." He smiled in anticipation on seeing a mischievous glint in her eyes, and he murmured, mesmerised by her eyes and the way her hair fell across them, as well as her close proximity to him,

"We're on duty."

She affectionately ruffled his hair, remarking with a smirk, "You're so cute when you think we're going to break the rules completely."

He looked disappointed and pouted. "We're not?"

She rolled her eyes and looked at him in bemusement. "Mr Anal Retentive is going to keep trying to catch us out and make SG-1 look bad. We're going to have to be careful." She kissed him and smirked. "No hanky panky while on duty, Doc. We get away with it at the SGC because we're not usually in the middle of a mission there but we're still careful."

She then grinned at him, reaching for his hand as he smiled at her. "Come on... I've got to dial the Supergate soon... and if I go onto the bridge without you again, Cam's going to make another joke about you not being fit for your undercover mission with Tomin and Vala." Her smile vanished as she asked in concern, "You remembered to bring your contacts, didn't you?"

He groaned, raising his eyes to the ceiling before saying firmly, looking at her with a frown which soon faded into a soft smile, "For the millionth time, Sam, I have them."

She smiled as she touched his cheek. "Good. Just making sure. You're going to stand out even more with glasses on." She looked at him thoughtfully as he held her gaze. "Daniel." She looked down at the hand that she held and then up at him again. "If I don't get an opportunity later on, I just want you to know that..." Her gaze dropped as she fought with herself to get the words out without crying.

Moved, he touched her chin, her gaze meeting his once again, and he murmured with a tiny smile, his eyes showing his true emotional state, "I know... and..."

Her eyes moist, she quickly kissed him. "I know." She smiled slightly. "Good luck."

He chuckled briefly. "Thanks. I think I'll need it." He looked at her seriously. "Changed your mind about the state of my mental health yet?"

Her smile widened. "Never." He smiled and she continued teasingly, "You're as nuts as ever."

"Saaam..."


	9. Chapter 9

On a planet in the Ori galaxy, Daniel, without his glasses, and Vala, both in clothes similar to those of the locals, sat in a bustling tavern. As Daniel awaited the arrival of Tomin with someone who could help them, and the Archaeologist trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, Vala leaned over to him and hissed, smiling at someone who looked at them in passing, "If he refers to me as his wife one more time, I'm going to kill him."

He looked at her, remarking quietly as he looked sceptical, "Well, you haven't really given him cause to believe otherwise now have you?"

She looked at him, indignant. "So it's my fault?"

He rolled his eyes, and she said, her voice a little louder but not much, "No Daniel. I've told him. I've tried to let him down gently."

He smiled slightly at her and patted her forearm. "Tell him later."

She nodded, and he continued with a shrug, "I can see why you would want to let him down gently though... he's clearly in love with you."

She groaned and then looked at him entreatingly. "Don't make it any harder."

His smile returned. "It's refreshing to be reminded once in a while that you do care about people." He cocked his head briefly as she looked mildly offended for a moment. He then said, "Try to lay off the violence for the time being. You can't change how he feels."

She shrugged as she looked out at the various patrons of the establishment who were drinking, talking and laughing. "I don't want Cameron to be hurt ei..." She suddenly looked at Daniel, noticing that he wasn't paying any attention to her, distracted as he was by something on the other side of the tavern from where he sat. She frowned slightly in concern and he asked, realising eventually that she was looking at him,

"You see that?"

"What?"

She looked in the direction that he had indicated and asked in bemusement, seeing what appeared to be an old man with white 'James Brown' hair, seated on the other side of the tavern with his ale, "That old man? What about him?"

Daniel frowned at where the old man was seated, a few moments previously seeing Merlin there. Coming to a realisation about what he surmised to be another vision, he said, distracted, "Nothing."

"Glad we had this chat. You okay?"

He replied, still looking distracted as he continued to consider the appearance of the apparition, "Yeah, I'm fine. In fact, I get the feeling we're on the right track."

She continued to look at Daniel in concern, occasionally glancing back at the old man just in case he suddenly became interesting. Moments later, Tomin appeared with a stocky man with longish curly brown hair and sideburns. They sat down at Vala and Daniel's table, and Tomin said, introducing the members of SG-1 to the man and vice versa,

"This is Hertis. Hertis, this is Daniel. Vala, my wife."

Vala gulped and no-one else saw Daniel inconspicuously extract a primed zat from her hand. Noticing her reaction to the introduction, but not seeing what Daniel had done, Tomin said, looking at her matter-of-factly, "We are still married."

Vala fought with herself not to make a scene as she glanced from Hertis to Tomin, and then she said softly to Tomin as a nonchalant Daniel slowly and inconspicuously extracted a beretta from her trembling and white-knuckled grip beneath the table, "We'll talk about that later."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

As Hertis stared down at the view of his planet from a window of the Odyssey, the ship currently in orbit of the planet, Vala looked at Cam. The Colonel stared back at her, and she nodded slightly with a small smile, silently communicating with him. Cam returned the smile as Tomin, looking disturbed and uneasy at the scene, turned to look out of the window. Daniel, still in disguise as was Vala, turned away, attempting to remove his contact lenses so he could put his more comfortable glasses on.

Sam, spotting the trouble that he was having, got up from where she had been seated at a large black table with Cam, Teal'c leaning against a chair in between the two Colonels. The Astrophysicist made her way to where Daniel was and touched his waist. He looked at her, his hands dropping, and she said quietly,

"Look at me Daniel."

He smiled slightly and then looked at her as she quickly extracted them. He reached into a pocket for a small container containing some cleaning fluid and put the lenses away. She asked, squeezing his upper arm as he nodded at her in thanks, his smile returning,

"You ok?"

He held her right hand for a moment, glancing down at it before saying with a soft smile, "Yeah. I think we're on the right track."

She smiled too. "Good." Glancing at Hertis and Tomin, and knowing that they all had to be professional for the duration of the mission – how ever long it turned out to be – she reached into her BDU jacket pocket and handed Daniel his glasses before returning to her seat as Teal'c looked amused for the briefest of moments, while Cam silently brooded.


	10. Chapter 10

_Thanks to Entropic Cascade for picking up something that I missed on about ten run throughs. Lol. Thanks!_

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

As Daniel changed back into black BDUs in the locker room on board the ship, Sam, forgoing the usual protocol regarding two on-duty team members who were involved in a relationship, sat on a bench behind him as Daniel related to her what had happened on the planet with Hertis. "... I don't know how Vala managed to hide a 9 mil _and_ a zat..."

Sam couldn't help but smile for a moment, and then she said with a shrug, "Well, security on-board isn't as stringent as back at the SGC. At the SGC, we have the Armoury which is under constant guard and repeated auditing to ensure that it has what it's supposed to have. Here, however... the time spent aboard this ship is logged as mission hours, even if we're doing experimentation, maintenance or simple reconnaissance... which is why we wear BDUs and not fatigues, and why we carry our standard issue weaponry on our persons for most of the time."

As Daniel buckled up his trousers, he couldn't help but chuckle at the long explanation, remarking, "Jack was right... I shouldn't ask you anything unless I really want to know."

She threw him a hurt look before saying with an embarrassed smile, noting his teasing smile, "You asked for it. Anyway... at least I don't have to repeat myself or dumb it down, so while you do look bored, you actually take it on board."

He raised his eyebrows mirthfully. "So you think."

She shook her head in disbelief and then shrugged. "So anyway... even if we did do equipment checks before beaming down personnel, who would be willing to search the ship commander's fiancée?"

He grimaced a little. "Yeah. Good point."

She asked with a slight smile, "You ok?"

He nodded and asked, "Yeah. You?"

She shrugged. "I'm not sure, but I think I may be excited. Cautious excitement though, considering who else we have on board."

He rolled his eyes at the thought of Merek potentially ruining the continuing escapade in search of the fabled Ark, and she stood up, wrapping her arms around his waist as she rested her head against his shoulder. A thoughtful frown on his face, he held her tightly, knowing as well as she that there was no guarantee that they would see home again, or each other even, should the quest take a turn for the worst. He kissed her forehead tenderly and was about to say something when he was interrupted by a knocking at the door. Before they could react, Cam's voice called,

"Carter, let's lock and load."

Daniel raised his eyebrows and looked at Sam, who smiled sheepishly. "He knows me." Still in Daniel's embrace, she called back, "Just a minute, Cam." She looked up at Daniel regretfully. "Probably the last time to be unprofessional before we reach Celestis."

His face mirrored her pain and regretfulness for the briefest of moments. "I know."

They reluctantly let go of each other, and Daniel said as he smoothed her cheek, gazing at her in worry, "Don't think about it too much, Sam. It's..." He looked uncomfortable at being on the verge of saying something that he didn't think would be entirely true, for instance, that everything would be okay, and would come to a satisfying conclusion.

She nodded in understanding, knowing what he was thinking, and she pressed a gentle kiss to his lips before leaving the locker room without another glance, willing herself to be strong and to keep her mind focussed on what they might find, rather than the pain that was growing within her. Daniel watched her leave, still looking pensive, before he mentally shook himself and laced his boots up.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Vala, now in black BDUs too, sat with Teal'c in the ship's Mess, the Jaffa wondering idly if Cam would hold it against him if he shot Vala. Vala continued to talk about random topics, ranging from how many Naquadah bricks of a certain size it would take to construct a model replica of the ship, to Jaffa travel games. Eventually she sighed, all mirth vanishing from her countenance. Teal'c noticed this and asked as he reached for her hand in a gesture of comfort,

"Have you not consulted Tomin with regard to your intentions of marrying ColonelMitchell?"

Vala remarked, exasperated and stressed, "Do I _look_ as though I've told him?" She looked down at their hands and asked, looking worried, "What if he takes it badly?"

Teal'c retorted grimly, "No self-respecting male will take such news light-heartedly, ValaMalDoran. He may perhaps wish to cause injury to ColonelMitchell."

She pointed at him. "See? That's exactly why I'm worried. He's a good man... but he's, uh, a _mite_ impulsive." She smiled triumphantly on surmising that she had used the colloquialism 'mite' correctly. Her smile vanished. "But he gets hurt easily."

"... and I will not permit him to lay a single finger on your Sim'ka. You have my word."

She smiled at him gratefully despite the pain and turmoil in her eyes and voice. She patted his hand and said, "Thank you, Muscles." Her tone lifted, sounding brighter. "Now... you must have had what these Earth-borns call Scrabble." Teal'c silently groaned and put his head down on his folded arms, wishing that he could finally achieve Ascension.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

In another part of the Mess, Tomin sat with Hertis, the two acquaintances catching up on events that had happened since they had last encountered each other. Hertis looked at Tomin sceptically as the former Ori commander gazed longingly at Vala, who was seated far from them with Teal'c. Hertis remarked, teasing as well as concerned,

"Tomin, I would sooner believe that your mother was a male than believe that you and Vala are married."

Tomin shot him a glare at the perceived jibe directed towards his mother. He then said, glancing over at Vala again as she held Teal'c's hand, "She is still my wife."

"Has she fallen in love with another man?"

Tomin glared at him testily. "That is enough from you. You will speak no more on the matter, otherwise I will not be held accountable for my actions."

Hertis grinned at him as he ate a grape, and then he said, looking impressed, "I would like to know how they have such lovely grapes without those irritating seeds."

"Do you think of nothing but food?!"

Hertis looked mildly offended. "I do not. I think of a great many things... including why the woman who you claim is your wife was involved in a tender embrace with the commander of this vessel... and why she is now in the company of a man who is not her husband. Perhaps she once was your wife, but you could not keep her satis..."

As Vala and Teal'c left the Mess, leaving the two men alone, Tomin suddenly grabbed Hertis' throat, impeding further taunts as he said darkly while Hertis gasped for breath,"If you speak once more on this topic, I will kill you where you sit." Tomin's harsh expression suddenly melted as he realised just what he was threatening to do, and how he had previously killed in the name of false gods. With a murmured apology, the now ashamed man left the Mess. Hertis looked at where Tomin had gone before resuming his meal, shaking his head slightly as he thought in concern of his friend's state of mind.


	11. Chapter 11

Vala and Tomin stood on a plateau overlooking a large mountain range on the surface of Ortus Mallum. Vala glanced uneasily at the man who technically was still her husband. She noticed his pain-stricken and pensive demeanour. She asked, worried,

"You okay?"

Disturbed as his thoughts of the Ori continued, his feelings of seemingly endless guilt raged through his mind as he thought once again about how he had been duped by them, and had lost his wife's faith and trust in him in the process. He replied softly, "I was thinking about what this place really was."

She looked at him worriedly, and he asked, gazing at her sadly, "Vala... can you ever forgive me?"

She placed a hand on his shoulder and replied, looking as though she was in pain, "Tomin, don't. Not now. We'll talk about it later. I don't want you to be upset."

"How can I not be? Do you plan to wed Colonel Mitchell?"

She turned away from him and said, her voice low with the memories of not-quite-so-old pains and memories. "He can love me without hurting me."

"If I could relive that moment when I had struck you, I would not do it." Vala turned to face him, seeing the conviction in his eyes before he turned to look at the mountains again.

"Tomin." She held his hand. "You only have one chance to live... you can't keep thinking about what you could have done. All you can do now is think about what you will do rather than what you did. You're a wonderful man, Tomin, and I'm sure you'll make any woman very happy."

"If I had not..." He stalled, not sure of how to phrase the next words.

She shook her head. "I don't think so. Look, it's not your fault. To tell you the truth, it's me. I can't love you like that. And, hey, sure I'll go back to Ver Isca with you when all this is all over, but would it be fair to you if you love me and I can't return that love?" She raised and then patted their linked hands with her other hand. "I love you, Tomin, but not like that. You deserve someone who can and _will_ love you like that though. And I enjoyed our time together. I just don't think we're right for each other." She gently kissed him on the cheek.

He gazed at her sadly once again. "You are only saying that because you believe that I am not worthy. You believe that I have not truly turned my back on those whom I once served."

She closed her eyes and muttered an expletive that Cam often uttered in times of stress and usually while off-duty, and she said, looking at him, envisioning a struggle in the near-future, "Tomin..."

Seemingly with renewed vigour, Tomin said, walking away from her, "Come, Vala, we must assist Daniel in searching for the Ark."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Daniel began to dig in a part of the wooded area that the team had beamed down to. Teal'c stood next to him with a scanning device, monitoring local atmospheric and energy readings. Neither for the first time, nor the last time, Daniel wondered, despite the clues and the feeling of almost being on the right track, whether it was all for nothing and whether perhaps he had dragged his friends out on a wild goose chase. At least they knew that the Ark had existed at one time or another. Whether it still existed was another matter.

He glanced back at Sam as she searched an area that was lower than the mound that he and Teal'c were on. While Cam was turned the other way to glare at Tomin and Vala as they held hands in the distance, Sam caught Daniel's eye and smiled briefly. Daniel smiled back and they both resumed their respective searches. Some minutes later, after hearing a radio crackle into life, Daniel ceased digging and he and Teal'c turned to look down at the two Colonels as an annoyed Cam shouted up at them,

"Jackson! Teal'c! We gotta go! Keep looking!"

Daniel, confused, asked as he looked from the team lead to his fiancée, "What's wrong?"

Sam replied, looking concerned, "Merek's up to something. He's turned on the Asgard core."

He tried to reassure her with his eyes but his own feelings were too mixed up to be of any good to himself, let alone her. He just blinked slower than usual, and her lips quirked up for the briefest of moments, the worry still in her eyes. Teal'c voiced a concern with regard to Merek's activation of the core, drawing the Archaeologist's attention momentarily to his other team-mate as he too tried to fathom Merek's reasons,

"That will alert the Ori ships to our presence."

Cam remarked, inwardly wishing that he had confined Merek to the brig for the duration of his temporary command, "Yeah, I think that's the idea. We got it. You guys... find the Ark." He called into his radio to Major Marks aboard the Odyssey, "Marks, transport Colonel Carter and myself back up to the ship now."

Daniel turned a little too quickly back to his digging as Teal'c resumed scanning. Seconds later, Cam and Sam disappeared in a burst of white light as Marks beamed them back up to the ship. Teal'c watched his friend for a long moment, and then simply said as he returned his attention back to his scanner, "We will overcome this tribulation, DanielJackson."

Daniel nodded but said nothing as he continued to dig, focussing his mind on the end goal and not the means by which to achieve the said goal. Teal'c patted him on the shoulder comfortingly and then looked back to see what Vala and Tomin were doing.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Daniel, Teal'c, Tomin and Vala resumed their progress along a tunnel that they had discovered earlier. They had only recently learned from an interrupted radio transmission from Cam aboard the Odyssey that the ship not only had a Replicator problem, but also that beaming them off the planet could take a while. These problems gave the team more time to search for the Ark, although whether the extra time would be sufficient was one factor of many that weighed heavily on the minds of the Archaeologist and his friends most of all. Daniel sighed as he held his flashlight up, he and Teal'c taking turns to lead the team through the rough-shod and treacherous, at times cramped and narrow terrain, taking care not to trip over pieces of rocky rubble that were strewn everywhere. They also kept their eye out for any potential tunnel collapses, considering that there already must have been at least one collapse in the past.

Eventually they reached a section which had been blocked up with boulders, and just as Daniel was about to suggest moving them manually, Vala looked at Teal'c. "What do you think, Muscles?"

Teal'c didn't say anything – as usual, his actions spoke louder than any words could.

He retrieved a block of C-4 and a detonator from a pocket of his combat vest. Daniel rolled his eyes briefly, thinking just how much of an effect Jack had had on the Jaffa, that now using highly powered explosives was second nature. He then realised the possible implications of setting off a large explosion in a cramped tunnel of unknown stability. As Teal'c began to arm the explosive, Daniel said by way of objection,

"Wait, wait, wait! You can't! We don't know how stable this tunnel is."

Teal'c immediately retorted in a way that usually had Daniel feeling undeniably foolish, and still had that same effect after so many years, "Shall we turn back, then, Daniel Jackson?" The expression on the Jaffa's face was a teasing challenge, but which also suggested that if there was another less risky way, he would forgo the use of explosives.

Following a moment's hesitation, as he considered just what was at stake, and how far they had already come to find the Ark, Daniel said, a touch of resignation in his voice, "Bombs away."

After Teal'c had detonated the C-4, and when the dust had settled, the team, from their hiding place, could see a path through the rest of the passage which had now been unblocked. They cautiously advanced, walking through the cleared gap in single file, knowing all too well that there was a chance that it could still collapse on top of them, or slightly less worse, separate them from the way that they had entered. With Teal'c taking point, they walked into a chamber, seeing dead tree roots and more stone.

Suddenly, Teal'c's attention was drawn to something in amidst a pile of rubble. He raised his flashlight, aiming the beam at an object barely visible underneath the stones that covered most of it. Not sure of what it was, but knowing that it was unusual for their otherwise barren and uninteresting surroundings, Teal'c called his friend.

"DanielJackson."

Daniel kneeled down beside the pile of stone, frowning as he readjusted his flashlight to get a better look at the object. Teal'c moved a large boulder that lie immediately on the object and Daniel removed some more rubble as Vala stood somewhere between his position and the entrance to the chamber, her P-90 close to her chest as she unconsciously imitated her absent fiancé. Daniel paused to gaze at a large dusty grey chest that was partially visible in amidst still more rubble.

As he gazed at the chest, he surmised that at some point in the past, there must have been a cave-in of the immediate surroundings. Suddenly, an image burned in his mind's eye, an image he had seen in previous visions – a flat topped mountain – perhaps a dormant volcano – collapsing in a large explosion. Snapping back to reality, he could barely contain his excitement. They had finally found it – _armeria verimas_ – the Ark of Truth.

"This is it!"

Vala remarked none too kindly, recalling highly uncomfortable hours and days of excavations on Dakara, "Oh, you're sure this time?"

Daniel replied, wishing briefly that Sam could have been there to share the excitement of the moment with him, "Definitely. We found it."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Aboard the ship, Cam's triumph at shooting a Replicator was short-lived, the Colonel initially thinking that he had finally dispensed of the metallic creature that had been created and released by Merek earlier as part of the IOA's insurance policy for what they believed to be a futile quest on SG-1's part. Just as he reported this to Sam, and the ship's crew, he became aware of more Replicators in his vicinity; a lot more. He uttered an expletive and then made his way to a junction in the corridor where he could see a horde of Replicators scuttling towards him. The Colonel fired at them and began to run back towards a doorway as some of the Replicators exploded into their constituent blocks as others continued to come forth.

After a narrow escape from the doors almost closing on him, and Replicators attempting to pry the door open, Cam now lie on his back in a dark corridor. Breathing heavily from the harsh impact of his body against the floor, he called into his radio, "Hey, Sam! They seem to be living up to their name. There's definitely more than one at this point." Ignoring the pain in his back, shoulders and neck, or at least trying to, he closed his eyes and grimaced, not wanting to be out of action at such a critical stage of the impromptu mission.

Sam replied, sounding worried at the latest development, "How many?"

He retorted, feeling grumpy at the situation as well as a lot of other things, "A lot!"

The doors in front of him began to open, Replicators pouring through, and Cam groaned as he got up, running down the corridor as he resumed firing at them. As he did so, he heard Sam say,

"The original has probably converted into a queen by now."

Yes. Like that was a consolation just as he was running low on ammunition. Knowing that he would have to hide soon, he murmured into his radio as he continued to fire upon the Replicators, "Tell Vala I... Aw, hell, she knows." He continued to run and Sam said, trying to sound optimistic,

"Cam, stay focussed." She paused for a brief moment as though she was appearing to gather her thoughts. "The good news is that it's likely stationary..." He didn't hear the rest of what she had to say as he realised much to his dismay and frustration that he had finally run out of ammunition. Still running from the metallic multitude in pursuit, he cast his now useless firearm aside, sprinting faster now that he couldn't shoot. Gaining a lead on the Replicators, he switched his radio to 'silent' and dived into a doorway, closing it quickly before the pursuers reached his stretch of the corridor.


	12. Chapter 12

Sam had given one of the most difficult and painful orders of her career. She had ordered the ship to make a jump into hyperspace. This had effectively stranded her fiancé and friends on Ortus Mallum, at the mercy of the Ori ships that had attacked the Odyssey earlier. She could only hope that Daniel, Vala and Tomin had found the Ark and that they were safe. With those thoughts amongst others in mind, she joined Captain Binder and Major Marks in the corridor outside of the room that housed the Asgard core of the ship. Soon afterwards, Cam joined them, remarking with a hint of weariness in his voice,

"I assume you haven't found the magic cut-off switch."

Sam replied, worried, "No. If the Replicators are gonna come after the core sooner or later, I don't know why they haven't yet." She tried not to think that as a result of her order, which had saved the ship, Cam's fiancée was stuck on a planet with there being a possibility that they could never go back. Sam hoped that he wouldn't hold it against her for too long.

The officers discussed their options, and Sam briefed the others on known Replicator tactics, the Astrophysicist having had more experience with the metallic scourge than the rest. Eventually, it was decided that Sam would be sealed into the core room while Cam went in search of the Replicator Queen, leaving them with a proverb from his much-quoted grandmother,

"_You want honey? Follow the bees_."

Sam tried not to be concerned about how the other Colonel was dealing with things. Marks remarked as they put their plan into action while Binder left to arrange his men, "Sounds like a good way of getting stung to me."

0o0o0o0o0o0

Daniel was barely aware of the ground dragging beneath his feet. He frowned, wondering in a transient state of delirium just why his feet wouldn't co-operate with his brain, and why the Ori soldiers escorting him felt it necessary to drag him. It wasn't as though he was going to escape. In all honesty, he would rather have just slept like the dead until the dawn before having to deal with whoever had captured him, and presumably Vala and Tomin. However, the chance that that desire had of being fulfilled was about the same as Adria suddenly revealing herself to be part of an elaborate test of worthiness from the Ancients.

A semi-conscious Daniel, whose glasses had presumably been discarded of, was painfully dragged through what appeared to be a medieval dungeon. The seemingly endless journey from one nameless place to another ended abruptly. He was painfully dropped to the ground in what appeared to be a cold, dark cell, and he grunted in pain as the pain from the impact and his previous injuries flooded his body. In an attempt to distract himself from his pain until it died down somewhat, he tried to remember what it felt like to be in Sam's arms.

It hit him that he might never see her again. He groaned as he rolled towards the bars, bloody cuts on his face, the Archaeologist wanting to see if there was a way out, even if his body didn't want to. At last, the pain and the weariness became too much for his body to function effectively, and, breathing shallowly, he passed out as he muttered his fiancée's name in an attempt to call out to her as he did sometimes when he woke up at home from nightmares.

Not long afterwards he stirred on sensing a presence, only to see the looming figure of a Doci standing next to his prone form. He groaned. The situation wasn't going to get better any time soon. He groaned, still breathing shallowly from his injuries. He muttered, sounding as though he was in pain,

"Oh God."

The Doci replied, typical Ori arrogance in his voice, "Your gods cannot save you now, Daniel Jackson."

Daniel retorted tiredly, "Actually, that-that's just a statement of general dissatisfaction." He rolled away from the Ori, trying once again to imagine being at home with Sam again as he hoped that the rest of his friends were in a position to improve the situation some time soon.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Elsewhere in the Ori dungeon complex, Vala was being subjected to torture from a Prior. He used his staff weapon to mentally torture her as he attempted to indoctrinate her, continuously repeating a phrase in the Ori language. A tortured scream tore the monotony of the torture, intensifying it when she realised the source. Feeling both physical and mental pain, Vala could only hope that Tomin would die soon so that he would escape the insufferable level of pain that he was being subjected to. As the Prior continued his task, Vala held onto the bars of her cell, looking out with an anguished expression as she consciously felt her mind slipping. Her head was filled with painful and traumatic memories from her past – from her days as a host to the Goa'uld Qetesh, to fears of losing Cameron and Daniel.

0o0o0o0o0o0

The Doci stood outside of Daniel's cell. The jewel on his chest piece glowed, emanating a lilac hued light. He repeated the follow phrase continuously, "Enim lupin purnum pravus intus." The phrase translated into English as 'Verily, the corrupted sinner will be cleansed from within_._' His eyes were on Daniel's form, as though he was certain that it wouldn't be long before the Archaeologist cracked and 'repented'.

Daniel, meanwhile, lie on the floor of his cell, his face contorted in intense pain as he felt the Doci reach into his mind. As the chant continued, Daniel felt the Doci reach into his memories, bringing to the fore disturbing images: a dying Teal'c in the forest of Ortus Mallum; Sam crying in his arms as she contemplated that she would never become a mother; Jack going into stasis in Antarctica; his parents dying. The last image burned in his mind as the Doci implied through showing it to him and continuing the chant that had he submitted, he could have had a chance to save them.

He closed his eyes, trying not to let the Doci get to him as he became overwhelmed by an intense and prolonged explosion of pain, both mental and physical. As he fought, the images soon turned to representations of his deepest fears. He saw each and every one of his friends dying at the hands of Ori soldiers and explosions. He saw a very weak Sam being tortured painfully. He cried out as his feelings of helplessness and despair grew on seeing that particular image. The image grew in intensity until it was as though she was there with him, her eyes beseeching him to save her as she whispered his name.

He cried as he fought back, struggling to push the Doci out of his mind; struggling to prevent further violation and exploitation of his private thoughts, fears, feelings and memories. His eyes bloodshot, he felt himself slip away, feeling 'Daniel' beginning to give under the overwhelming pressure of the Doci's mental torture.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Cam, meanwhile, was embroiled in what appeared to be a fight to the death with Merek. Merek had earlier been infested by Replicators in the brig, and was now being controlled by them. The Colonel had repeatedly been beaten by the Replicator hybrid, thrown up against various walls, thrown down onto the floor just as many times, yet he refused to give up. Unfortunately Merek showed no signs of giving up either.

In the cargo hold of the ship, a bloodied Cam was repeatedly being beaten and kicked each time he attempted to get to his feet. Cam's movements, as a result of his injuries and continued beatings, slowed exponentially. Merek slammed him up against power conduits on the wall, his hands tightly gripping the BDU vest. Cam refused to give up, having received many beatings and near-death experiences during his command of SG-1.

Cam took the opportunity to remove a long Replicator leg from the base of Merek's skull, something that he had spotted during earlier stages of the fight. Merek's consciousness surfaced, the man's facial expression going from a harsh and angry one to a pained and desperate one. Merek pleaded with the Colonel to end his life.

Cam retorted angrily, feeling weaker and weaker from his own injuries as he looked up at the ceiling, "Believe me, I'm trying."

"They did this to get the self-destruct code."

Cam frowned. Was that it? What was he supposed to do with that piece of information? Save the ship by running through it, screaming at the top of his voice something that Sam might possibly have worked out hours previously? He groaned quietly and demanded,

"What is it? Tell me!"

"I don't know. It's on the other side of the crystal."

Well, that was a little more helpful in that it narrowed down where Sam had to look.

An explosion separated the two men, and almost instantly Merek's consciousness was subjugated as the Replicator within him took over once again. Cam noticed the Replicator hybrid's expression and posture change back to stiff and rage-filled, so he grabbed a power conduit from the wall. Sparks flew as he ripped it from its position, and he rammed the conduit into the hybrid's stomach as Merek rushed towards him. A huge electric charge burst through his body, the Replicator within unable to inhibit the flow.


	13. Chapter 13

_Italics_ – dream sequence

_Lyrics featured are Don't Know Much by Aaron Neville and Linda Ronstadt_

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Vala stared at the young woman before her. A part of her still considered this flame-covered monster to be her daughter, something which she had trouble reconciling with whose side of the war she was on. She wanted to believe that she could bring out the human side of Adria, even after all of the time that had passed since she had given birth to the Orici. The desire – no, the instinct – remained to take care of her daughter, to make sure that she didn't make the wrong decisions in life. Unfortunately, however, Adria was beyond saving, as much as Vala was reluctant to admit that to herself.

Adria circled the hall, materialising and walking around a tired Vala and the Ark, taunting her mother, boasting that she now had all of the power of the Ori since their demise thanks to the Sangraal. Vala fought with herself not to reach out to the monster, to be strong. Adria wasn't her daughter. She, or rather it, was a monster taking human form; a monster that had caused and would go on to cause unimaginable pain, oppression, and death. A monster who had come from her womb.

Vala tore her eyes away from the Ark and turned to face the brat. "Not wanting to give you any ideas, but why can't you use the Ark?"

"It's just not the same. People need to be convinced to see me for what I really am."

"A spoiled brat with a god complex?"

Adria chastised Vala with a smile. "Now, mother."

Vala became even more curious as to why Adria wouldn't even touch the Ark. "The Ark can only be programmed to make people believe what is true." Surely, knowing its potential, its power, Adria would have used it to her own means? Perhaps the Ark was useless, and Daniel had had them following a red herring after all.

"Once the Ancients have been destroyed, I will be a being of unchallengeable power, worshipped by all those beneath me. A true god by any definition, wouldn't you say?"

Vala smiled. She realised why Adria wouldn't use the Ark. The monster had tried to cover up her insecurities with talk of a war for supreme godhood, but she was scared. The Ark must be far more powerful than her in her present state. Vala put her hands on the Ark, which was on a table in the hall. She then turned to Adria with a slight smirk. The monster had underestimated the five people in the galaxy that she shouldn't have – SG-1.

Despite her faith in her friends, Vala couldn't help but try to give Adria another way out. "Why do you need to take on the Ancients? Seriously. How many human worshippers do you really need? Can't you just live with what you have and be happy?" Vala moved away from the Ark, walking towards her daughter. "I mean, my own mother used to say to me, 'Vala, happiness is not something you can buy.' Or in my case, steal... but I think the point is...'"

Adria replied grimly, "They are a threat to me."

Vala faced her daughter, the urge to save her rising. "From what I understand, they don't even care about you. They saw the Ori as a threat, and they did nothing about that."

"That's what you chose to believe. They gave you the means to destroy the Ori. They'll stop at nothing to destroy me. I will not rest until they are all wiped from existence."

Vala sighed quietly in defeat, seeing some of herself in the monster. "I wish you hadn't inherited my determination." Vala had to wonder what else Adria had inherited from her.

The flames that had surrounded Adria's body flared up in intensity before she turned and walked into the oval shape in the wall at the head of the hall. Flames appeared in the oval and then disappeared once Adria had gone. Vala made a noise of exasperation, annoyed that Adria only seemed to be getting worse. On hearing a rumbling noise, she turned from staring at the wall to look at the Ark. Buttons on top of the Ark had lit up, the unit emitting a humming noise before the buttons dimmed. Vala, worried, turned to look around the room, looking for whoever or whatever might have activated the device.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

After several hours or perhaps days – he didn't know – of unimaginably painful torture, his mind having been pillaged by the Doci repeatedly until he was a heartbeat away from renouncing his 'heresy' just to stop the pain, Daniel lie on his side in his cell, battered and broken. He rested his head on his hand as he managed to get some sleep. His subconsciousness offered him what little comfort it could offer in its fragile state.

_Daniel was seated in a diner that he recognised from when he had Ascended the second time. He stared around himself in shock. He then looked down at himself, seeing that he was wearing the blue sweater that Sam had given him as a Christmas present. He slowly stood up, scared that he had Ascended once again. Being Ascended wasn't what was scaring him... because he could have more of a chance to help defeat the Ori if he could get the Others to listen. What scared him primarily was that Sam would be alone, and he had made a promise to her that he would never leave her. _

_He shouted, looking at the ceiling, "I know you can hear me! Unless you do something, the Ori will take the Milky Way! Earth will fall... Atlantis too. And you know what? You're next." He frowned, looking annoyed as he noticed that, like the last time, the other diners ignored him and continued going about their business._

_He slumped back into his seat, waiting for whichever Ancient would show up to talk to him. As he continued look around the diner, the Archaeologist looking defeated, he almost leapt in surprise on feeling a hand squeeze his. His gaze immediately jumped to the seat opposite him, to see Sam, dressed in civilian clothes, her hair down. He stared at her in surprise and then in fear._

"_Sam? What are you doing here?"_

_She continued to hold his hand in hers. "I'm not here, Daniel." She smiled sadly. "And you're not Ascended."_

_He frowned. "I'm not?"_

_She shook her head. "I think it could be a dream."_

"_So I'm lucid dreaming?"_

"_Something about this being a safety valve to limit the pain you're in." She paused as she gazed at him. "I don't want you to give up, Daniel. It's important. This isn't the end."_

_He closed his eyes and exhaled, looking utterly defeated. "Oh Sam... it is. It's all over. There's nothing I can do... the Ancients won't help. The universe is going to be overrun in a bloody crusade. The Ancients will go next, and then there will be nothing that anyone can do." Anger flashed on his face as he opened his eyes. "The Ancients' rules won't save them when the Ori come for them." His anger faded into anguish as he found tears running down his cheeks. _

_She disappeared and then appeared in the seat next to him. She rested her hand on his thigh as she snuggled up to him. "It's not over. There is always a way." She looked up at him. "You remember how the Goa'uld used to be when we started out?" He nodded. "We are so very close, Daniel. So close. I can't have you giving up now... not now. You've just got to be strong."_

"_I'm trying."_

_She shook her head. "No you're not. You didn't question my presence."_

_He frowned."I should have?"_

"_Daniel, if the Ori were probing your mind, who do you think they would use to extract that information? I could be a trick." She rested her head against his shoulder with a sigh. "Just seize the moment. You're going to wake up and you're going to be back in that cell, and I can't help you."_

_He sighed tiredly as he looked down at her. He remarked bitterly, "Yeah, like I helped you when Nirrti was torturing you. I wasn't there. Why are you here for me now?"_

_Her gaze met his. "Because I will fight for you. You've always known that. I'd do it whether or not you'd do the same for me."_

"_But I would."_

"_I know."_

_He gazed at her for a moment and then put an arm around her. She leaned into his embrace and he held onto her tightly. "I'm scared. I won't see you again."_

"_All the more reason to keep fighting, Daniel."_

"_Look at this face I know the years are showing.  
Look at this life I still don't know where it's going.  
I don't know much but I know I love you.  
That may be all I need to know..." _

_He smiled as he heard the refrain, not knowing where it had come from, but not caring. It was the first song that he and Sam had sung together on a very special day in the past. He felt his surroundings shift and he held onto her tighter, whispering as tears burned his eyes, _

"_I don't want to go back."_

"_Look at these eyes they never seen what matters.  
__Look at these dreams so beaten and so battered.  
I don't know much but I know I love you.  
That may be all I need to know..."_

_She disappeared, his surroundings fading from view like dissolving paint. He still felt her in his arms despite not seeing her. His breaths grew more shallow as his surroundings darkened considerably, and then came the overwhelming pain which felt as though it was burning his soul so many times over. _

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Daniel woke up in great pain, the Archaeologist back in his cell, and still in black BDUs. His eyes still closed, he tried to breathe through the pain, trying in vain to hold onto the fragments of his dream that were left in his mind. Fresh tears burned his eyes as he felt as though he had given up. He wanted it all to end. He couldn't take any more of this. There was no escape. The Ancients weren't going to help. His friends were helpless, and the Doci no doubt had the Ark.

"It's not over."

He opened his eyes on hearing Merlin's voice. He then groaned, wondering why whoever it was felt it necessary to be in disguise. He raised his head a little to see the glowing figure of Merlin sat near his feet.

"Don't give up."

Daniel sighed wearily. "You're not Merlin."

"I'm here to help you."

Daniel closed his eyes and laughed bitterly. The Ancients had refused to help in the past. They had taken Morgan Le Fay away when she was about to tell them something vital about Merlin's weapon. Why would they want to help now? But he also knew that Merlin had never Ascended. Merlin's consciousness had died inside of him.

Daniel retorted, his eyes still closed, "Then help me."

"You must find the strength."

Daniel slowly opened his eyes and groaned as he turned to lie on his back, his BDU jacket falling off a shoulder. More pain flooded his body during the movement and he grimaced, not wanting to give any nearby Priors the satisfaction of hearing tortured screams that he really wanted to utter, along with far more colourful expletives than they would have ever heard. Daniel bitterly remarked to himself that at least whoever this was, they were speaking relatively concisely, rather than speaking in riddles like Oma Desala had had a habit of doing. The whole situation nonetheless filled him with more anger and frustration.

"No." Daniel struggled to sit up. "No." He managed to rest on an elbow. "No, I've had it. And, I'm not really in the mood for games right now." His already weak voice thickened with tears, his sinuses blocked up from his previous bouts of crying. "You're not a figment of my imagination and you're not... Merlin." He felt frustrated that this Ancient had tried to trick him into thinking that he was hallucinating again. He faced the Ancient. "You're Morgan Le Fay."

"You're delirious."

Daniel refused to back down. "Merlin died. He didn't ascend. His consciousness left me. It's... it's gone. The Ancients must be able to see through your disguise. I know I can, I just don't know why you think it's necessary."

After a moment's hesitation, the glowing figure of an old man turned into one of a younger woman, with dark hair that had been clipped up. Morgan said softly, her inner conflict showing in her eyes as she tried to make him see how hard it was for her, "You were once Ascended. You know how complicated it can be." A tear ran down Daniel's cheek as he smiled sadly. He knew all too well.

She proceeded to explain to him how hard it was for her to appear to him and to help. She explained further that she had stopped Merlin from stopping the Ori the first time around, but had long since seen the error of her ways. When Daniel pushed her to help, to sort out a mess that could have been prevented long ago, she revealed that Adria now had the Ori's power, and was too strong to be defeated by a single Ancient.

As Daniel lost hope once again, the Archaeologist feeling not for the first time that he was facing insurmountable odds, she told him that he needed to use the Ark on only one Prior. However, she didn't tell him how to do that, leaving him even more frustrated and at the end of his tether. He demanded to know what to do and how to do it, feeling that the Ancients owed their continued existence and more to SG-1.

But Morgan had disappeared seconds before a Prior appeared on the other side of the bars. Daniel slumped to the ground in defeat, resigned to another torture session. The Prior slowly removed his hood, to reveal not an albino, but Teal'c, who looked at his friend in concern, noticing his dishevelled and weak appearance. Lifting his staff weapon, he aimed it at the lock on the cell door, blasting it open.

Daniel stared up at Teal'c, trying to work out whether he was hallucinating or not. Teal'c cast his Ori staff aside and kneeled at his friend's side. "DanielJackson."

Daniel released a sob. He really wanted to believe this was Teal'c. He whispered weakly, "Teal'c."

"Where are you hurting?"

Daniel remarked with the faintest of smiles, "Everywhere." Teal'c, looking grim with concern, slowly helped Daniel to a seated position and held him close as he wondered just what the Ori had done to the Archaeologist, who now bitterly sobbed in his arms.


	14. Chapter 14

After a bloodied and weak Cam managed to relay the critical information to Sam about the shutdown command, the Colonel turned in the corridor to see Merek still following him. Cam groaned in exasperation. "Ah, hell." There was no way that he could fight him hand-to-hand. He had enough trouble remaining conscious as it was. He realised that he still held the C-4 detonator. Quickly throwing back the safety cover, he flicked the switch, and within seconds, a huge explosion ripped through the cargo bay and the corridor that they were currently in, engulfing the IOA representative. Cam attempted to run down the corridor, away from the blast as he pressed the talk button on his radio, hoping to tell Sam something, knowing that he was running out of time. However, the shock wave from the blast sent him crashing into the side of the corridor, against a wall, and he lost consciousness.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

In his cell, Daniel tried to pull himself together as Teal'c helped him to his feet. Teal'c asked, still concerned by his friend's wellbeing, "DanielJackson, are you able to see?"

Daniel nodded, replying as he grimaced when he moved his arm, feeling something which he hoped wasn't a fracture or a breakage, "Uh, yeah... I can see enough. Sam's got my spare pair. Have you managed to contact the Odyssey?"

Teal'c supported Daniel as he took his first steps. "I have not. I believe that they may have come under attack and were forced to escape into hyperspace." When Daniel looked upset, Teal'c continued as they slowly left the cell, the Jaffa picking up his Ori staff again, "They will return."

Daniel looked at his friend again, memories returning of events directly prior to his torture. "What happened to you? You were shot." He closed his eyes as he remembered more, worried for his friends' welfare.

"We were ambushed and you, ValaMalDoran and Tomin were seized. They left me behind. I..." Teal'c paused. He didn't know how he had miraculously healed as he lay exhausted in sight of Celestis. He had no wounds or scars on his body from where he had been shot, and he had woken up with a renewed vigour to find his friends. He looked perturbed as he considered the possibility that an Ancient may have helped him.

Daniel looked at Teal'c, troubled. "What happened? Are you okay? I think I've got some bandages left in my pocket."

"I am fine."

"Teal'c..."

"Really." Teal'c looked at where they were walking as he finally let go of Daniel, the Archaeologist appearing to be strong enough to walk unaided. "May I enquire as to your welfare?"

Daniel replied, feeling relieved despite his weariness that he was no longer in that cell, no longer at the mercy of the Doci, "I'm fine too, Teal'c." He looked at Teal'c with a shared understanding of the SG-1 definition of 'fine', and the Jaffa nodded. Daniel exhaled. "We need to find the Ark. It's important. I think I might know how to work it."

Teal'c glanced at him. "Have you had any more visions?"

"Not... exactly."

"Explain."

Daniel glanced at Teal'c, looking thoughtful. "Let's just say that we weren't alone in this fight after all." He looked around himself and said, "We need to find Vala and Tomin first."

"That is my intention, DanielJackson."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Having utilised skills acquired from her previous life, Vala stole a set of keys that a soldier had carelessly left on a table after a meal. Striding purposefully towards the cells, she peeked into each one, looking for Tomin. She needed to find Daniel to tell him about the Ark lighting up, and she would need Tomin's help to do that as he was more familiar with the layout of Ori prisons. Eventually finding Tomin, she struggled to find the right key before unlocking his cell door.

She found him lying on a stone bench, his back to her. On surmising his general condition, her stomach felt heavy with dread. Hoping that he hadn't given up the fight already, she called his name as she entered the cell. Scared when he didn't answer, yet trying to remain hopeful and strong, she patted his shoulder, trying to get him to get up, or at least move.

"Tomin, it's Vala."

She felt relieved when he at last moved, but he didn't get up or speak. What had they done to him? She wasn't going to let him give up. "No, come on, come on." She helped him to sit up, dismayed to see that he looked tired and ill, his eyes red-rimmed. She could only imagine what he must have been through. It appeared to have been a lot worse than her earlier torture. "Come here." He nodded, and she touched his face, hoping that he was still in there somewhere.

"Listen, everything's going to be okay. I promise."

He closed his eyes, looking ready to give up then and there, but she touched his face more firmly than she had done previously. He opened his eyes again and she asked, "Good. Can you pull yourself together?" He nodded once again but closed his eyes not long afterwards. Feeling the urgency of the situation, the imperative to find Daniel, she gently slapped Tomin's face.

"I know you want to give up, but I am not letting you." She held his gaze. "Good. Now I want you to help me find Daniel."

She looked up in surprise on hearing Daniel's voice. "I'm right here."

Seeing Daniel and Teal'c grounded her, re-establishing her connection with the rest of SG-1 and more importantly her fiancé. She couldn't help but feel a little guilty with her hand on Tomin's face so she moved her hand away quickly, looking at the two new arrivals in surprise. She also couldn't help feeling relieved and happy that while she was thinking of looking for Daniel at least, they were looking for her. In that moment she realised where she belonged although she had to wonder why Teal'c was dressed as a Prior albeit without any of the facial markings.

Daniel asked, looking optimistic about things in general, "Are you guys okay?"

Tomin replied wearily, "I don't feel very good."

He and Daniel smiled weakly, a shared understanding between them of having experienced absolutely dreadful torture at the hands of envoys of false gods. Daniel, hoping that they were coming to the end of this adventure, said, "Let's go find the Ark."

He and Vala helped Tomin up, escorting him from the cell as Teal'c kept an eye out for soldiers or Priors. Vala looked across at Daniel, concerned on seeing blood on his cheek and lower lip, and noticing that he didn't have his glasses. "Daniel?"

Daniel replied, frowning to block out the pain radiating from most of his body as he focussed on getting to the Ark, "I'm fine." Vala looked increasingly worried, knowing that he was lying.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Once Cam had narrowly escaped an attack from the Replicator skeleton of Merek, who had suddenly disassembled along with the rest of the Replicators, he staggered onto the bridge of the Odyssey, which was dark, illuminated only by the weapons fire from the four Ori ships that were attacking the vessel. Knowing that Sam didn't have enough time to get the hyperdrive back online, he reluctantly pressed a button on the command chair, calling,

"This is Colonel Mitchell of the Earth ship Odyssey. We surrender! Please, cease fire! Repeat, we surrender!"

He didn't want to have to do that, but he would do anything if it bought more time for Sam to do something; if it gave her a fighting chance. As the ships continued to fire, the Odyssey rocked by several blasts, Cam called into his radio, "Sam? I don't think they're gonna stop."

She called back, "I'm not going to get the hyperdrive back in time! We can't take much more."

Cam exhaled, knowing that there was nothing more that he could do. He closed his eyes as weariness took hold and he suddenly had a strong urge to just give up altogether.


	15. Chapter 15

Tomin and Teal'c lie unconscious in different parts of the hall, the two men having been thrown against walls by the Doci, who had used his telekinetic abilities on them. Daniel and Vala stood next to the Ark, the former having been interrupted from fiddling with the device by the arrival of the Doci. The two SG-1 members exchanged a look of muted panic, and the Doci said in bold and arrogant tones,

"Enim lupin purnum pravus intus."

Daniel sighed in frustration, glancing at Vala to check that she was still okay. "You know, you really need to work on new material."

"You will kneel before your gods."

Daniel closed his eyes in frustration. "I will not! Look!" He opened his eyes. "If you're so all-powerful, then do me a favour and open this damn thing!"

"You deny the power and glory of Origin. You will perish. I will give you one more chance to repent for your sins."

Vala rolled her eyes as Daniel shook his head sadly, his eyes exuding a tapestry of complex emotions. "You're human." The Doci raised his hand, about to send Daniel hurtling painfully against the wall behind him. "You must have had a family. What would they say if they saw you now? Did you kill them too? How many families have you killed? How many people have you taken away from their homes and their loved ones?" Vala grabbed Daniel's arm before he got any ideas about approaching the Doci. The Doci faltered as he held Daniel's gaze, his hand appearing to struggle with itself in staying in a raised position. What else Daniel was about to say was forgotten when the Doci suddenly dropped to one knee.

Daniel and Vala turned to see Adria take corporeal form in front of the wall that had been behind them. As Tomin regained consciousness, Adria said arrogantly, "It's over. You can't win. There is only one path." Teal'c woke up as well as Adria raised her hands. "The power and glory of Origin."

Daniel realised something as he listened to Adria's boast. He looked at Vala meaningfully and then drew his eyes away, glancing in Adria's direction. Vala squinted at him, trying to work out what he was trying to convey to her. A moment later, however, she understood and she stepped towards her daughter. As Daniel slowly approached the Ark, Vala said with a sigh,

"Adria. I'm sorry. I wish things could have been different." She had meant it. She really did wish that she could have succeeded in getting Adria to see the error of her ways. Unfortunately, however, Adria had become increasingly more evil as time wore on, and now there was no turning back.

Adria replied, for much the same reasons but from her own perspective, "Me too."

As a grim looking Teal'c reached for his staff weapon, and Daniel continued to press buttons on the Ark, Vala asked, silently hoping with all of her heart that Daniel was doing something positive behind her, "So, what are you gonna do? We're obviously never gonna agree."

When Adria looked at her with a predatory gleam in her eyes, Vala asked, hoping even harder that they would be saved soon, "Are you gonna kill me now?" By asking that question, she had hoped to reach into Adria's human side, however small that may have been made by the Ori, the mass murdering and the conquests; the human side that would denounce matricide.

Teal'c silently aimed his staff as Daniel worked out the last of the seven symbols that were required to activate the device. Adria suddenly realised what Daniel was doing behind Vala. The now furious Orici used her extrasensory abilities to send Daniel flying into a corner of the room, the Archaeologist grunting as the existing pain in his left arm and shoulder flared up from the impact.

Teal'c then used his staff to shoot one of the legs of the table that the Ark was presently on. Vala moved out of the way as Adria stared in horror as the table collapsed, the Ark sliding towards the Doci. The others stared in horrified fascination as the lid at last fell open. A huge beam of white light shot out of the Ark, engulfing the head of the Doci as he peered into its depths.

Unbeknownst to SG-1 and Tomin, all around the galaxy, staffs lit up with that same light, Priors and people captivated by the sight.

Finally, at long last, the beam disappeared, the Ark appearing to deactivate as the Doci remained in a kneeling position, but looked stunned nonetheless. Adria, now looking scared, helplessly reached out a hand as she screamed with a hint of petulance, "No! You can't take away my power!"

As the Doci looked around himself in confusion at his surroundings, Vala remarked, "I think... we just did."

Daniel rubbed his shoulder as he appeared stunned, unsure of what had happened. Adria screamed, "You will all burn in the fires of eternal damnation!" Daniel thought wryly that had Jack been there, he would have started singing 'Ding Dong, the Witch is Dead'.

Teal'c stood up as Tomin, still seated, looked to the doorway, catching sight of a moving white light in the corridor. The light entered the room, changing into the figure of Morgan Le Fay. The Ascended being retorted in reply to Adria's threat, "Not if I have anything to do with it."

Adria tried to remain arrogant but her fear showed as she realised that the walls were metaphorically closing in. "You're no match for me."

A determined Morgan smiled. "I am now."

Daniel, from his seat on the floor, near to the corner that he had been thrown against, stared as Morgan changed back into white energy, rushing towards Adria. Adria's eyes glowed a red hue, and she in turn, changed into red flames before rushing at the white energy mass. The Archaeologist couldn't help but feel sorry for Morgan, knowing that, like Oma with Anubis, Morgan could remain locked in battle with Adria for all eternity. The two energy masses collided and swirled around the centre of the room before suddenly disappearing, and all became still.

All eyes were drawn to the Doci, who said, trying to look philosophical about his past misdeeds, "Mia clementia denar esto."

Vala frantically asked a kneeling Tomin, "What? What did he say? I don't understand."

As a stunned Daniel translated the phrase in his head, Tomin replied, "He said, 'Have mercy. I was blind, but now I see.'"

The Doci, still kneeling, began to weep as the others gathered around the Ark. The pain in his left arm too intense to ignore now that the shock had worn off, Daniel held his injured limb and said as they all considered what had happened as well as the implications, "It was 'Origin'."

Vala asked, now hoping that the Odyssey had fixed their communications array at the very least, "What was?"

"The keyword that activated the Ark." Teal'c and Vala stared at him in surprise. "I realised while Adria was talking, the Ancient version of the word also means 'truth' in older dialects. I guess the Alteran that built it must have thought it was ironic."

Vala remarked, "You know, I'm starting to think that irony is very overrated."

Daniel nodded in acknowledgement, not feeling like smiling. Vala asked, looking at him in concern, "You okay?"

Daniel neither nodded nor shook his head. Instead, he changed the subject, which disturbed his friends. He gestured to the Ark. "Let's get this outside and see if we can contact the Odyssey." He kneeled at the Doci's side. "And let's see if we can take him home on the way back."

The Doci looked up at him, tears rolling down his cheeks as he remembered torturing the Archaeologist. "Clementia."

Daniel replied softly, looking concerned and trying not to recall the torture that he had received at the hands of the man in front of him, "It wasn't your fault. You were manipulated."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

A bloody-faced Cam woke up in the command chair, initially surprised that he hadn't died already. He grunted as feeling returned to every part of his body at the same time. Noticing that his surroundings were as intact as they had been prior to his most recent unconscious spell, he also noticed that the Ori motherships that had been there before were still there. Yet, no-one was firing. Confused at this, yet considerably relieved too, Cam activated the communications control on his chair.

"Sam?"

Sam replied, "Why did they stop?"

"I don't know... but I'm glad they did." He groaned, the Colonel very obviously in pain.

Sam called back, sounding concerned, "Cam?"

"I'm fine... I'm fine." He paused. "We do have wheelchairs on board, don't we?"

"Stay there."

He rested his head back in his chair with a groan. "Oh, I ain't going anywhere..."

A couple of minutes later, Sam and Marks appeared, followed by Binder, the remainder of the bridge crew, and a group of marines. The Astrophysicist and Marks immediately rushed to Cam's aid, Sam ushering a medic over. "Cam?" Cam's eyes flickered closed as he looked progressively weaker and she checked his pulse, the Astrophysicist looking scared. "Come on, Cam. Wake up. Come on."

A medic looked up at Sam. "Ma'am, we're going to have to get Colonel Mitchell to the Sick Bay immediately."

Sam went to a console just as Cam stirred, groaning. He said, looking up at Sam as she turned to look at him, "We need to go and get the rest of the band back." He coughed, everyone dismayed and concerned on realising that he was coughing up blood. "I'm not going anywhere."

Sam remarked, looking at him challengingly, "I'm taking command of this ship. You're going to the Sick Bay. Don't make me make it an order." A faint smile appeared on Cam's face and Sam tapped into a console, calling into her radio, "Doctor Newman, prepare the Sick Bay. I'm sending Colonel Mitchell to you." Sam tapped a few more buttons and turned in time to see Cam and a group of personnel disappear in a burst of white light.

The Colonel approached the chair as everyone else took their positions. Grimacing, she slowly took the seat, feeling uncomfortable at first. She called to Marks, "Marks, set a course for Ortus Mallum."

"Aye aye, Ma'am."

After ordering repairs to vital systems, Sam then activated the communications control. "Newman, keep me posted on Colonel Mitchell's condition."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Vala gaped up at the white towers of Celestis, now having the time to gape unlike the first time she had seen them when she and Daniel had inhabited the bodies of two Ori galaxy inhabitants. As she did so, Tomin watching her as Daniel kneeled on the ground in front of the Ark, running his hands over the symbols as Teal'c repeatedly called into his radio,

"Odyssey, this is Teal'c. Can you hear me?"

Daniel said distractedly, "Maybe comms are down." He didn't want to even consider the much sadder alternative. He suddenly realised something. He looked up at the Doci, who was now looking in the distance at no particular point in particular. He then looked at the staff that the Doci still carried. His eyes still on the staff, he called, "Vala..."

Vala eventually looked at him, about to ask what he wanted when she followed his gaze, and Daniel continued, "I don't think that it works as it once did, but there must be something in there that allowed for transmitting energy and whatnot. We could hook our radios up to it and use it as a transmitter to contact the ship."

Teal'c raised an eyebrow and remarked, "Will you be creating plots for a new series of MacGyver?"

Daniel gestured as though he was making a point. "It's something."

Vala looked thoughtful and then smiled, looking a little nervous but willing to give it a go. "I think I can do that." She took her radio off her combat vest as Teal'c did likewise with his. Daniel was about to do the same when suddenly his and everyone else's crackled into life, each of them exchanging surprised yet relieved looks on hearing Sam's voice,

"SG-1, this is the Odyssey. Can you hear me?"

Everyone but the Doci smiled, and Daniel called back, closing his eyes in relief, "Loud and clear, Sam." He took a deep breath as he stood up, ignoring the pain as Tomin stepped forward to help him up. "Five to beam up." Tomin, Vala and Teal'c immediately grabbed the Ark, the Jaffa stopping Daniel from doing the same, and Sam replied, sounding curious,

"Five?"

"As Jack would say, we made a new friend."

"Did you get the Ark?"

"Yes." He refrained from asking about her or the ship, or elaborating on what had happened. Instead, he stood closer to his friends seconds before the Odyssey beamed them up.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Sam grinned in relief from her command chair on seeing her friends and Tomin appear with a large dark box. When she noticed the Doci, she, Binder and a group of marines immediately reached for their weapons. Daniel jumped in front of the Doci, saying as he shielded him with his body,

"No! Don't shoot! He's harmless."

They slowly lowered their weapons, staring at the Doci, and Daniel said, eyeing the soldiers cautiously, "He was the first to use the Ark. It worked. He doesn't believe in Origin any more. I was hoping we could take him home. He's already given us the co-ordinates of his home world."

Sam nodded and then said, turning to the soldiers that were around her chair, "Binder, Miller, escort our guest to a holding room. Make sure he gets something to eat."

Daniel frowned. "Sam..."

"Daniel, I'm not taking any chances." She nodded at the soldiers and Daniel murmured something to the Doci, indicating the personnel who were approaching him. The Doci nodded and then approached Sam. As the Colonel ran her hand over the 9 mm strapped to her leg, the Doci murmured something before handing his staff to her. Surprised, she took it, replying,

"Thank you, Sir."

Binder and Miller then escorted the Doci from the bridge and Daniel bent over Marks' console to give him the co-ordinates for the Doci's planet. When he had finished, he stood up, clutching his arm and a worried Sam asked, trying to remain professional,

"What happened?"

Vala said, looking scared, "We can chit chat later. Where's Cameron?" No-one missed the hurt look that Tomin shot in her direction.

Sam replied, "He's in the Sick Bay. We had a Replicator outbreak."

Daniel nodded. "We heard that part of Mitchell's transmission. Are they gone?"

"Yeah, we found the shutdown command."

As they left the bridge, Sam signalling for two of the burliest marines to carry the Ark, Vala remarked, "Well, I'll bet that Merek man will just say that you didn't do it fast enough."

"I don't think so. He's dead. He created a Replicator using the core but it escaped and, well, replicated. It appears that Merek got infested and taken over by them."

She looked at Vala worriedly as Tomin looked grim. She then turned to Daniel as they entered the Sick Bay. "Daniel." Teal'c, Vala and Tomin walked past them to stand around Cam's bed. "How bad is it?"

Daniel frowned, still unconsciously clutching his arm. "How bad is what?"

Her expression saddened. "The arm."

He looked down at his left arm and then said quietly, "Pretty bad. I don't think it's broken though."

She replied in the same volume as a medic approached them, the Colonel touching Daniel's face, noticing the cuts to her dismay, "I just want you to know that I would hug you, but... I'm in command of the ship now." She looked guilty and awkward.

He smiled slightly and then kissed her gently on the lips. "Don't worry about it. It just means you owe me a hug or seven later." She smiled at him as a medic led him away and then she said, patting her pockets,

"Daniel."

He stopped and turned towards her as she pulled a pair of glasses from a pocket of her BDU jacket. She handed it to him. "Here you go."

He smiled as he took them from her, replying, "Thanks." Holding them, he followed the medic into another part of the Sick Bay so he could be checked out, leaving the Colonel to battle with her sense of duty and her personal feelings. Steeling herself, she walked into the Sick Bay, glancing over at Daniel as he took his jacket off, revealing a large and vivid bruise on his arm.

Concerned at that as well as Cam's welfare, she went to the southern Colonel's bedside where only Vala sat, the rest having been sent away by the doctor in charge. Sam took a seat next to Vala. "Hey."

Vala looked at her and then back at the unconscious form of Cam, who lie in bed, dressed in scrubs and looking far cleaner than he had. Sam looked up at the IV that was hooked up to her friend, and Vala said softly, "What happened to him?"

"From what I've heard, Merek beat him up while he was trying to draw the Replicators away from the core. Luckily we found the shutdown command in time otherwise he would have been toast." Sam put a comforting hand on Vala's shoulder. "He did good though... above and beyond the call of duty as always. There's a high likelihood of him getting another medal when we go home."

Vala nodded and then leaned against Sam's shoulder. "I hope he's okay. I should have been here."

Sam put an arm around her. "It's okay, Vala. He's fine. Doctor Newman said that he's stable. Hopefully he won't take too long to heal." She smiled and rubbed Vala's shoulder. "You're going to have fun playing Nurse." Sam's smile vanished on realising that Vala was crying quietly.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Once they had taken the Doci home, the Odyssey then began the long journey back to Earth. Vala continued her vigil at her fiancé's bedside, looking for any changes in his condition. She held his hand, feeling guilty and afraid at the same time. She wiped away tears as she contemplated losing him, and only then did she realise how much he meant to her. She drew her chair closer to his bed, resting her head next to his on the pillow as she continued to hold his hand, the alien watching over him.

A few minutes later, her attention was drawn to the foot of the bed and she sat up in surprise on seeing none other than Tomin stood there, gazing at her sadly. She quickly dried her eyes and invited him to sit but he remained upright. Tomin asked,

"How is Colonel Mitchell?"

Vala replied, her eyes moving back to her fiancé's body, "The doctor said that it's going to take some time for Cameron to heal. He went through a lot while we were in Celestis."

Tomin continued to gaze at her, his sadness increasing on allowing himself to admit that his wife was in love with another man. He then said, knowing that Vala loved Cam far deeper than she had ever loved him, "Vala... I can break our matrimonial bond if it helps you."

Vala whipped her head around to stare at him wide-eyed as he continued, slowly approaching her before kneeling beside her chair, "I wronged you, Vala. I did a great many terrible things, to you and to so many others." He asked her to repeat a phrase in his own language three times.

She looked shocked. "Tomin... I..."

Tomin felt as though his chest was being constricted as he gazed up at her. "Just repeat it and you will not have me hanging over you as you continue your life with Colonel Mitchell. While I hate him for one very obvious reason, he is a good and noble man who defended this vessel with no regard of the cost to himself."

She held his hands. "Tomin... look, you're a good man with a good heart. Don't blame yourself. I feel bad because I can't love you the way I should... the way that you deserve. It's not because of the unfortunate events of the past couple of years... well, solely anyway." She leaned forward and hugged him, kissing his temple as he began to cry.

Holding hands with him once again, she gazed down at him sadly and repeated the phrase that he had asked her to repeat. She asked him, "What did I just say?"

Still kneeling in front of her, he said softly, his gaze downcast, "'_I wilfully dissolve this union.'_"

"Is that it?"

He murmured something else in his language and then said by way of explanation when she looked at him curiously, "'_I release you from your marital bonds_.'"

Getting tearful again, Vala hugged him tightly, whispering, "Tomin..."

"Do not speak. Let us remain here for a little while longer."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Meanwhile, a troubled Sam, coming off-duty for the night, watched as Daniel sat on the end of the bed in his quarters. He hadn't said anything about what he had been through, but a few words with Teal'c were enough to cause her alarm. She sat down next to him, saying as she took his BDU jacket off, "Let's have a look at that arm."

Daniel, giddy from painkillers, replied with a dopey grin, "I'm fine... it's just some bruising. I can barely feel it anyway. I think I've got stitches somewhere... can't remember where." He frowned as he tried to work out what his injuries were.

She rolled his t-shirt sleeve up to see extensive bruising around his bicep, which appeared to radiate to his shoulder. Taking his glasses off, she took his t-shirt off, pulling it over his head. Putting these items aside, she examined his shoulder, a finger skirting the ugly contusions. She found more bruising and cuts elsewhere on his body and she said, looking worried, "Daniel, take your pants off."

He smirked at her cheekily. "Doctor said I wouldn't be fit for more than cuddling."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm going to have a word with her about the dosage of painkillers she's given you." She helped him to his feet and he said, frowning down at his feet, "I've still got my boots on."

"Well-spotted." She kneeled on the floor as he sat down, and she undid his boots as he looked up at the ceiling with a fascinated expression. She shook her head slightly as she took his boots off and then stood up again. He grinned at her and she said, an eyebrow raised as she helped him to stand once more, "Pants."

He nodded and undid his trousers, eventually managing to get them off with Sam's help. She looked increasingly concerned on seeing a great many cuts and bruises on his legs, including a long scar on one shin, fresh stitches holding it together. She fingered it and he squirmed. "That tickles."

She got up and said as she moved the sheets back on his side of the bed, "Come on, get in."

He suddenly looked vulnerable. "Are you not going to bed?"

"I am. I just have to change." She touched his cheek tenderly and then helped him into bed. She kissed him on the forehead and he frowned as he watched her put his clothes and glasses away. She went about undressing, getting ready for bed.

"Sam?"

She turned towards him as she pulled on a grey Air Force Academy t-shirt. "What?"

"You won't leave me, will you?"

She frowned as she looked at him, noticing how scared he looked. She dimmed the lights and joined him in bed, getting in on the right side instead of the left as she usually did, silently encouraging him to shift over. She said, looking hurt that he would even contemplate that she would ever leave him, "Of course not. What's wrong?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. I know Teal'c will have said something about what happened, but I don't want to talk about it right now. The Ori are gone... everything that has come to represent them has gone. I don't want to be sad right now."

Tears pricked her eyes, the Colonel knowing that what Daniel had been through had been far worse than what Teal'c had implied, and especially if Tomin's weary countenance earlier had been anything to go by. She propped herself up on an elbow so she could look down at him as she smoothed his hair. "I know you'll tell me when you're ready... but please don't just hide everything because you think I'll be hurt. I'm hurt now... I don't know what those bastards did to you."

"I'll tell you tomorrow. I can't think straight... I think Doctor Newman might have gone a little overboard on the drugs. I want to hold you. It's weird being on his side of the bed."

She gently kissed him. "Daniel... I'm holding you tonight otherwise you'll be in even more pain when everything wears off." She smiled. "I'm glad that you're okay... relatively."

"Likewise." He pouted. "Can't I just ignore doctor's orders for once?"

"For once? You do it all the time." She paused. "No, you can't."

"At least let me kiss you."

She looked at him sceptically as she settled down next to him. "You'll end up rolling on your bad arm."

"Oh, life's too short..."

"No point making it shorter."

He turned to face her regardless of her concern or the pain as she looked at him in disbelief. He kissed her, his hand cupping her jaw as she smiled into the embrace, returning his kisses. She then asked, pushing him so that he lie on his back once again, "Is your arm hurting?"

He shrugged. "A little." He smiled at her. "Totally worth it though." He groaned softly, and he said, looking at her with a proud smile, "I'm proud of you. You took command of the ship. They'll have to give you command of something now."

She made a face. "I had SG-1. That was enough."

He smiled dopily. "You deserve more – you always have."

She kissed his cheek. "Go to sleep." She carefully rolled him onto his right side before holding him from behind, her arm under his to limit the amount of pain he would be in when morning came.

He groaned. "Don't I get a kiss goodnight?"

She groaned too but in exasperation, and muttered, "Give me strength..." She said aloud, "Don't move, Doctor McFuss Pants." She carefully climbed over him and kissed him. "That good enough?"

He grinned. "No."

"You know, Daniel... if you're in more pain than you should be in the morning, you know who Doctor Newman, and then Carolyn will kill... and I'm pretty sure that if I die, I'll stay dead, unlike you."

"Okay, fine... one more." He kissed her with a growing passion as her body started to become alive with feelings and sensations. When the kiss ended, he grinned. "I'm good."

She remarked as she fought to get her breath back, "Some kiss goodnight... that was a lot of tongue." She smiled as she whispered something in his ear along the lines of what she was going to do to him when he was sufficiently healed. With a mischievous smile as he got aroused, she climbed back to her previous position and held him once again, saying as she closed her eyes,

"'night, Daniel."


	16. Chapter 16

Cam woke up with a groan, hoping that he wasn't still in the command chair of the ship. He grimaced in pain as he turned his head, and he realised that he was in fact in a reclining position, and in the Odyssey's Sick Bay. His eyes were drawn to the chair at the side of his bed in which a dishevelled Vala was fast asleep. His pain returned with a vengeance as the drugs that he had been given were beginning to wear off. However, he was moved by the presence of his fiancée, and how it appeared that she had been at his bedside constantly for however long he had been there. It meant that she still cared about him. It also meant that she was safe, and that the Odyssey had returned to Ortus Mallum to pick her and the rest of the team up.

He didn't know about the Ark, but he didn't want to think about that right now.

An auburn haired doctor approached his bed and went about checking the monitors and IV around his bed. She asked, glancing at him as she put her clipboard down on his bed so she could tighten a tube, "How are you feeling, Colonel?"

He murmured, closing his eyes again, "I want some drugs, Doc."

He felt a prickling sensation in his arm, and the doctor said as she gently swabbed where she had injected him, "You're very lucky... all things considering. I don't know what Mr Merek did to you exactly, but you took quite the beating back there."

He chuckled humourlessly as she drew the curtain around his bed so she could change his bandages. The sound of the curtain moving woke Vala up. "He and I had a little bit of history."

The doctor smiled briefly as Vala stretched in her seat, looking at her fiancé in concern. "Well... you're doing good, Sir. You'll take a while to recover, but there's nothing permanent. Doctor Lam will run more tests on you when we get home. The SGC is better kitted out than we are, but you're fine... or you will be." Cam nodded and as she pulled his blankets back so she could replace bandages on the rest of his body, he looked at Vala, who watched him worriedly.

"Hey, baby."

Vala smiled tiredly, happy to see him talking. "You're looking better."

He smiled at her. "I probably look better than I feel... nothing out of the ordinary there." His smile wavered, the Colonel looking concerned. "How long have you been here?"

She shrugged, not wanting him to worry, and the doctor said softly, "Since yesterday evening."

Cam looked even more worried, and Vala remarked, rolling her eyes, "Doctor Newman, my dear healing woman, I was under the impression that you were complicit with the concept of discretion."

Newman retorted politely, "Well, Ma'am, you have been here a long time, and if you'd passed out from a hypo, the Colonel would have accused me of not attempting to force you out of the Sick Bay every two hours since his admittance."

Cam looked mildly amused at the thought of the doctor and the rest of his team trying to force his stubborn fiancée out of the Sick Bay. He then looked at Vala, concern on his face. "Baby, go and get something to eat. I'll be fine."

Vala shook her head. "I'm staying here, Cameron." She glanced at the doctor uneasily, as though greatly anticipating the medic's departure. When the doctor had eventually completed her tasks, she quietly left, retracting the curtain around the bed. Vala then shifted her chair forward as Cam frowned a little. She reached for his hand and said as she gazed down at him, fear in her eyes, "I'm glad you're alive."

He painfully reached up to touch her cheek, and she held his hand to her face, knowing that he was feeling too weak to keep his hand there. "I'm glad you're alive too. How did it all go?"

She cocked her head briefly as she thought of Ortus Mallum. She didn't want to worry him about what she and their friends had been through. He was in enough pain as it was without the added pain of knowing that he could have lost everyone including her. "Quite well, actually. We acquired the Ark. Muscles and Daniel saved the day. Daniel made a new friend." She shrugged. "Rather a normal mission for SG-1."

He chuckled weakly and then coughed. She helped him to sit up and gently rubbed his back as he coughed violently. He groaned in discomfort and asked as she settled him down again, "What about Jackson and Teal'c... and Tomin? How are they?"

She shrugged again. "They're not taking up residence in the medical facility of this vessel." Her optimistic façade wavered and he looked up at her with a sceptical frown.

"You're not telling me everything."

She held his hand in both of hers as she said quietly, reluctant to bring up so many bad memories, especially right now, "Cameron, please. Not now."

"What happened?"

She looked away from him, still holding his hand as she said, tears threatening to fill her eyes, "We're all okay." She swallowed and looked at him. "That's all you need to know right know, Cameron. You'll find out soon enough, I imagine."

He reached up to touch her face. "If you've been hurt..."

She shook her head. "I'm fine. I really am. Just rest." She rested her head on his stomach with a sad expression. On hearing a painful hiss from him, she immediately sat up, worried. "Cameron?" She saw that his eyes were closed as he appeared to be in overwhelming agony.

He said, struggling to talk calmly as he took deep breaths to control the spread of the searing pain in his abdomen, "Sorry... not that I don't want you to do that, but I don't think I'm going to be able to take that without some serious screaming." He looked up at her. "Sorry, baby."

Worried, she pulled his blankets back, lifting the top of his scrubs to see extensive bandaging across his torso. She lightly fingered the edge of a bandage and then carefully pulled his top down again, replacing the blankets. "How much pain are you in?"

He replied quietly, not wanting to worry her, "Not that much. I've been better I'll admit, but..."

She raised an eyebrow at him sceptically, seeing through his façade. "Cameron..."

He smiled faintly, knowing that she knew him too well for him to get away with understating the truth or lying. "A lot. The drugs are taking the edge off it though." He paused. "I can't believe I didn't break anything... I got beaten within an inch of my life."

"That's my Cameron... takes a beating but keeps on ticking."

He chuckled. "You know, I wouldn't be surprised if Jackson turned out to be family after all. I just might beat him this year for most Infirmary hours. I wonder if Landry has a prize in mind." He glanced around her and asked casually, "No Tomin?"

Her gaze fell as she appeared thoughtful, and he continued with a sigh, watching her wistfully, "Look, Vala, he's your husband... and I'm not." His gaze shifted from hers. "Doesn't mean I won't punch his lights out when I'm back on my feet though." He sighed again and looked at her. "Whatever you decide... I'll respect that decision. I just want you to know that..."

She shook her head as she placed a finger over his lips, silencing him. "Ssshh, Cameron. And I thought Daniel talked too much." She smiled briefly and then looked overwhelmingly upset as she went back to holding his hand, careful not to squeeze too hard. "Cameron. He's not my husband any more."

He frowned. "Vala..."

She shook her head once again. "No... we performed a little Ver Iscan ritual last night. He let me go so I could be free to be with you." She closed her eyes as she began to cry. "I didn't want to hurt him, yet he was the one who made the move." As her gaze remained downcast as she contemplated just how much pain Tomin was in and how much it had taken for him to end their marriage, Cam, despite the pain or the chance of further injury to himself, sat up and pulled her into his arms.

Despite the overwhelming pain, he felt as though he had finally come home when she held onto him. He closed his eyes, trying not to make a sound. Eventually, he uttered a painful exclamation, whispering as a worried Vala immediately laid him back down,

"Sorry. I tried."

She shook her head in disbelief, smiling slightly. "Cameron. You could have ripped stitches or worsened your injuries."

"Hell, I'm already in pain." He gazed up at her tenderly. "Baby, go and get something to eat. You need to rest."

"I don't want to. I'd rather be here with you."

"I'm flattered, but if you faint, Jackson is going to kill me... and then Tomin." He paused, confused. "Wait, no, the other way round... I think." He frowned.

She smiled at his confusion and carefully kissed him on the cheek. "You talk too much."

"Well, I'd do a lot less talking if I wasn't so injured right now."

"Easy, tiger."

She gently smoothed his hair back as he closed his eyes, and he murmured, "I want some macaroons."

"You know, I checked when we came on board. The Mess doesn't have any in stock."

"Huge interstellar battle ship, and no macaroons. Huh."

Sam, in black BDUs, appeared at the foot of his bed and remarked with a little smile, glad to see that Cam was awake and complaining, "Well, when we get home, I might have a go at baking you a batch from the recipe you gave me."

He and Vala smiled at her in greeting, Cam replying weakly, "No offence, but the last time you baked something... you had to get a new oven."

Sam reddened a little in embarrassment as she glanced down at her feet, remembering an embarrassing baking incident in the not-so distant past. She then said with a shrug, "Well, okay, I'll let Daniel help out this time."

He smiled blissfully as he closed his eyes. "Oh, goody. Macaroons..."

Sam asked, her smile fading, "Cam, how are you feeling?"

He tried to shrug but groaned at the pain in his shoulders. "Ah! Uh, not so bad."

Vala said, glancing at her fiancé with a raised eyebrow, "He's lying."

Cam opened his eyes and scowled. "Vala!"

"Samantha's not going to think you're weak if you're in pain after the beating that you received."

Sam smiled at him teasingly, and he asked, "How's Jackson?" He glanced at Vala accusingly. "My future wife didn't say much about the mission. I know we got the Ark."

Sam replied as she sat on the edge of his bed, on the other side from Vala's seat, "We did." She turned to look at Vala. "Vala... Teal'c and Tomin are in the Mess."

Vala looked at the Astrophysicist challengingly, and Sam continued, "You've been here a long time, and Daniel will give me a hard time later on if I don't force you out. Cam's fine. Go on. I think Daniel's wandering around somewhere."

"Fine..." Vala exhaled and then leaned down to kiss Cam on the cheek as he stroked her cheek. "Cameron, I'll see you later."

Cam frowned, wanting to be able to sit up and kiss Vala without the risk of crying out in pain. "Make sure you eat properly, okay? And go have a sleep in our quarters."

The two Colonels watched Vala leave the Sick Bay, and Sam turned to look at Cam, worry in her eyes. "They were tortured."

He groaned softly and nodded in a grim acceptance as his gaze left hers. "I figured it would be something like that." He sighed as he eventually looked back at her. "Is Vala injured?"

She shook her head, still looking sad. "She appears to have got off lightly. Daniel said that it was telepathic torture transmitted from the Doci's staff, and which was designed to use the subject's fears against them." She looked down at her lap for a moment. "Daniel and Tomin bore the brunt of it... Daniel especially. But they're okay. They're doing good. As for Teal'c, he won't say anything about what happened to him, but Daniel told me that Teal'c was shot during the ambush and left for dead. However, Teal'c doesn't have any burns on his body from an Ori staff." She raised her eyebrows briefly. "It's certainly perplexing. He found his way to Celestis and freed Daniel, and they got Tomin and Vala."

He asked, looking curious, "Do you think it was the Ancients?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I wouldn't be surprised... after all, Morgan took out Adria."

He instantly looked surprised. "She did?"

"Well, Daniel says that it's an eternal battle like Oma Desala and Anubis. Adria is now weaker than she was. The Ark worked."

He nodded, and he said quietly, not wanting to be overheard in case Vala was still lurking around, "Vala didn't want to talk about the whole thing... but are any of them here in the Sick Bay?"

She shook her head as she held his hand, gently smoothing it. "No. Tomin just needed a rest. Teal'c's fine... Daniel was treated in the Infirmary last night. He's got twelve stitches on his left shin... and a lot of bruising around his left shoulder. He's up and around though."

"Did he spend the night here?"

"No."

"That's good." He watched her for a moment. "How's the command going?"

She replied with a little shrug and a smile, "Good. Better than I expected."

He asked, looking at her with a teasing smile, "Did you sit in the Chair?"

She looked at him enigmatically and said as she got up, evading the question, "Get some rest, Cam. Daniel and Teal'c will drop by a little later."

"I don't know why you're so scared of that thing."

She turned to face him again, smirking. "Says the man who had to talk himself into sitting in the damn thing in the first place."

"Well, you know... I'm not a General... or even a full bird Colonel. It makes me feel old sitting there. Even Landry looks uncomfortable sitting there."

She smiled at him and said softly before leaving, "Get some rest. I'll see you later."


	17. Chapter 17

Sam held Daniel's hand as they walked to the bridge, neither caring about ship personnel who passed them in the corridor or about standard procedure while on duty. He said, glad of the physical contact, "When we get home, all we need to do is open the Ark in front of one Prior, and the staffs should do the rest of the work. They're each telepathically connected to their owner, and the staffs themselves are all linked in some sort of a network."

She frowned as she considered this. "But we haven't detected..." She paused in realisation and looked at him in amazement. "It is possible if they're connected by some sort of a subspace link. How do you know?"

He nodded with a frown of his own as he mentally worked his way through his argument. "Morgan told me." He changed the subject, shifting the focus away from his ordeal. "Due to the distance between galaxies, the subspace link could be limited to within each galaxy, thus necessitating the use of the Ark within the Milky Way."

She nodded, looking flushed with excitement, and then said as she sobered somewhat, "That would mean having a run-in with a Prior."

He shrugged. "Word will have got out about how we killed a Prior."

She looked at him, worried. "You don't think..."

He shook his head. "Remember, they aren't as powerful as they would like everyone to think. If they do come to Earth, I imagine that they'd try a new tactic – i.e. attempting a peaceful conversion. They must know by now that they're not a threat to us."

"But Daniel... an Anti-Prior device won't stop a war ship..."

"Earth is one of the most populous planets in the galaxy. It is also one of the major players within the galaxy too. Destroying Earth would only be a last resort. Converting us, however, would be a decisive victory, especially if we have a way to destroy them. If Earth falls, the galaxy does, because there will be no-one to stop the crusade." He looked grim and sighed.

She looked at him in concern. "So you're saying that..."

"... that it won't be so hard to find a Prior when we go home."

"Yeah. Like that's reassuring." She exhaled, her thoughts going to her co-command who was currently in the Infirmary. "God, I hope Cam's going to be okay."

He gazed at her as they stopped walking, the entrance to the bridge in sight. "He will be." He stroked her cheek gently. "You're doing a great job." She made a face. "And it's going to look good on your record. They're going to have to give you your own command again."

She leaned into his touch, looking wistful. "Which would mean being somewhere else. I don't want to _not_ work with you guys. You're family." She chuckled briefly when he smiled and glanced downwards. "Okay, so you're going to be more like family than the others soon, hopefully, but you know what I mean."

Still smiling, he gave her a quick kiss and said, glancing towards the bridge, "Duty awaits, Colonel-Doctor."

She groaned softly, allowing her weariness to show for a moment. "When we get home, I am sleeping for a week... no, a month."

He retorted good-naturedly, "Yeah. I'll join you. In fact, let's not get married, and just sleep through the rest of our forties."

She laughed and then looked self-conscious. "I'd rather sleep through all these changes in my body than live them." She barely stifled a yawn and then glanced at her watch. "Come on, Daniel. We should be nearing the Oort-Opik Cloud now. No better view than Earth during the final approach."

He smiled slightly as they made their way to the bridge, this time not holding hands. "True. Hard to imagine that there are over six billion of us sharing it."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Sam, in the command chair of the Odyssey, couldn't help but smile as she saw a very familiar blue, green and white sphere looming in the ship's view screen. She couldn't help but also feel sad that Cam wasn't there to make some seemingly effortless remark about the very welcome sight of their home planet. Flanking Sam were Daniel and Teal'c, with Tomin stood next to the Jaffa. The Colonel called to Marks,

"Marks, open a channel to the SGC."

"Aye, Ma'am." After a moment, he, pressing his earpiece, glanced back at her. "Go ahead, Colonel."

She nodded and said, "Stargate Command, this is Lieutenant-Colonel Samantha Carter of the USS Odyssey."

A few seconds later, an image of Jack in blue combat fatigues stood behind a seated Walter in the control room of the SGC, appeared on the view screen in place of the looming image of Earth. Jack, his hands in his pockets, asked, "Hey Carter, how's it going? Mission go well? Where's Mitchell?" He smirked a little. "You've brought Daniel back in one piece, I see."

Daniel and Teal'c exchanged a look over the Colonel's head as said Colonel replied, glancing down briefly to hide a smile, "Hi, General. We've brought the Ark home. Colonel Mitchell is currently in the Sick Bay after a run-in with some Replicators."

Jack suddenly looked sceptical. "Excuse me? Replicators?"

"Yes, Sir. It was an IOA back-up plan because they weren't expecting us to find the Ark."

Jack glared to one side and the sheepish figure of Woolsey slowly came into view. "Colonel Carter, I assure you that..."

Sam snapped. "That's not good enough. You put the lives of my people in danger. Because of the IOA, Colonel Mitchell is injured; the Odyssey has sustained considerable damage in the Ori galaxy, and Mr Merek is dead."

Jack's eyebrows went up and Woolsey stammered. "W-w-what?"

Sam ignored him and asked Jack, "Sir, where's General Landry?"

Jack replied, physically imposing on a now scared Woolsey until the IOA representative moved out of view, "Oh, Hank's entertaining a guest. One of Marceau's buddies dropped in to act all merciful on us."

Sam looked up at Daniel in surprise, the Archaeologist having predicted such an action, and she then said to the General, "Sir, request that Doctor Lam be beamed aboard to stabilise Mitchell for the trip back to the SGC."

"Granted, Carter." Sam pressed a button on her chair and the image of Earth, much bigger now, returned. Sam got up as Marks called,

"Incoming matter stream, Ma'am."

A few seconds later Carolyn appeared, carrying a medical box and looking at her surroundings curiously. After greeting the doctor, Sam said to Marks, glancing back at the others, "Marks, beam down Doctor Jackson, Teal'c, Mr Tomin, and the Ark."

Glancing at Daniel, Sam then gestured for Carolyn to follow her off the bridge, the doctor asking, "How bad is Cam?"

The Colonel replied as they walked quickly down a corridor, "Doctor Newman's said that he's going to be fine, but the equipment is limited on board as you know. He's pretty messed up."

"What happened?"

"We had a Replicator outbreak and Mr Merek became a Replicator-human hybrid. I'm really surprised that Cam lasted as long as he did in a hopelessly mismatched fight." She paused. "I'm just glad that he's still with us." She chuckled briefly. "Vala's barely left his side since he's been in the Sick Bay."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

With Cam and Vala in the Infirmary of the SGC, and Sam briefing Jack on what had happened, Daniel joined Landry and Teal'c in the Prior's holding room, the Archaeologist wheeling in the Ark on a trolley. Daniel felt a stronger connection now with the Prior after his ordeal on Ortus Mallum, and after talking with the Doci aboard the Odyssey. He didn't hate him. He thought that perhaps maybe he should, considering what he had been through, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

He remembered something that Oma Desala had once told him. '_The universe is vast, and we are so small. In the end, there is only one thing we can truly control... w__hether we are good, or evil_.' After everything that had happened, all that he and his friends had been through at the hands of various false gods and galactic scourges, that had been mostly true. The Replicators had been an exception of course, what with them not really having a choice in their actions.

The Prior eventually accepted his staff from Teal'c, and asked as he looked at the Ark, "What is the meaning of this?"

Daniel replied, secretly hoping that the Ark would work, "See for yourself."

He opened the box and a huge beam of white light shot out. The Prior stood still, paralysed by trepidation and wonder as his staff began to glow with the same light. Landry looked at Teal'c and Daniel, who watched the Prior, and the General wondered whether the Ark would truly affect the entire galaxy as had been claimed by Daniel previously. He hid a little smile too, knowing that defeating false gods was getting to be old hat for SG-1 now.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Vala sat on the bed in the VIP quarters that had been allocated to Tomin, watching her now ex-husband put on the armour and uniform of an Ori soldier. She noticed the grave expression on his face in the mirror, and she felt even worse about what she had allowed him to do. However, she also felt that this was how things were meant to be. Tomin, previously a lame outcast in his community, would now lead those same people who ostracised him on account of a physical disability that he had once had. And she... well, this time, hopefully, she would marry someone that she intended to marry, rather than marrying someone she had to in order to cover up the fact that she had fallen pregnant out of wedlock.

She tried her best to look reassuring, if only for his sake, for she knew that he didn't want to go home to Ver Isca without her. "You're going to make a great leader."

He didn't turn around. Instead he watched her reflection in the mirror. "When I was being tortured by the Prior, the teachings of Origin gave me the strength that I needed." He gazed at her sadly. He knew that whether she did believe in Origin or not, she would never leave with him, no matter how much it hurt either of them. Still, he tried to make her see his point of view when it came to the matter of religion as he sat down next to her on the bed. "There are still so many things about it that mean a great deal to me."

She nodded, understanding the point that he was making. "I don't doubt that there's morality and wisdom in it. That's what made it such a powerful lure for so many people. I think, in principle, the idea of bettering ourselves, and seeking Ascension in one way or another..." She turned to look at him finally. "... is what it's all really about."

He looked more hopeful, surprised nonetheless that she understood what he had been trying to explain to her. "The book just needs some revision."

They smiled at each other knowingly, and she said, "Well, that's entirely up to you... and your people, though I might humbly recommend that the part about burning people alive for not following along should be the first bit to go. Perhaps throw in some colour pictures..." She looked away from him once again, looking straight ahead as she thought of Cam.

He gazed at her, a serious expression on his face as he considered just how lucky this Colonel Mitchell was in having Vala's heart. He said with a sigh, not wanting to let her go yet hoping that she would visit him at least, "You know, I have not asked this because I fear I know the answer... but now that I'm leaving..."

She looked at him, knowing that he was trying to find a compromise so that he could see her again, even if she wasn't his wife any more. "I don't know exactly where my place is... but I hope it's here."

"Do you not wish to wed..."

"I do. I do. It's just after everything we've seen... it makes me wonder about things, about where we've come from and where we're going." She sighed. "You're a good man, Tomin. You'll find someone more deserving of the love that you gave me." Her chest began to hurt on seeing tears in his eyes and she felt even worse about what she had done. "I'm sorry."

He attempted to look philosophical about it all. "I know I'll never make up for the things I've done, but I promise you, I'll spend the rest of my life trying."

"I know." She smiled as she put her legs across his lap, putting her arms around him as she contemplated what her life with Cam would entail. "So will I." She then rested her head against his shoulder, and whispered, tears in her eyes, "I'm sorry, Tomin."

He hesitantly smoothed her hair as he looked progressively sadder. "Should Colonel Mitchell ever mistreat you, tell me at once and I will return to greatly harm him."

She smiled as he gazed down at her. "He won't... and if he does, I'll kill him first, but thank you."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

After the Prior and Tomin had been taken back to their respective homes, Daniel wandered the corridors, deep in thought as he considered everything that had happened, and what could happen now. He had already had a heated debate with Landry about the Ark going to Area 51 for further study. Past experience had shown that Area 51's technology wasn't safe from malicious exploitation by parties with a grudge against SG-1. Despite that, he knew though that it was unlikely that they could unlock the device after he had tampered with it. After the IOA had notified them of the decision to send the Ark to Area 51, Landry had left the room that housed the Ark, knowing what Daniel was going to do. As commanding officer of the base, his presence would have sanctioned Daniel's actions which was something that was unacceptable for a man who was meant to be a role model of responsibility to his subordinates and other employees.

With no guards outside of the room, and with only Teal'c for company, Daniel had reset the Ark's programming so that the keyword reset itself at random intervals. It had taken longer than expected due to his comparative lack of technological expertise, but he hadn't wanted to enlist Sam's help unless it jeopardised her future career prospects.

The decision, however, still annoyed him. Why did the IOA still have a say after what they had done to jeopardise the mission which had put all of their lives at risk?

He took a deep breath to clear his mind of a million and one thoughts on the matter. He just wanted to go home with Sam and not have to worry about anything. Of course, once the aftermath of the mission had died down, there would be the wedding preparations to deal with once again, but he didn't want to think about that right now.

He was about to go to her lab when he walked the other way, towards the Infirmary. He hadn't visited Cam since they had come back to Earth, something which made him feel guilty. The rest of SG-1 had gone to see the Colonel, but he had been too busy with the Ark and with arguing with Landry.

A hand on his shoulder brought him out of his reverie and he looked up to see Jack at his side. "Jack."

"Daniel. How goes it?"

Daniel shrugged. "The IOA are taking the Ark to Area 51."

"Yeah. That bites." Jack looked at Daniel, curious as to why the Archaeologist hadn't kicked up even more of a fuss than he already had. "You seem relatively okay about it."

Daniel looked at Jack with a blank expression. "I don't know what you're talking about, Jack."

Jack narrowed his eyes briefly and then nodded, assured that Daniel had done something that he perhaps shouldn't have. The General chuckled softly. He missed SG-1. "Where are you off to?"

"Going to see Mitchell... then going to find my fiancée, and _then_ I'm going home."

"Oh... about that. That future wifey of yours told me to tell you that she had to rush home."

Daniel frowned, not having been told any of this by Sam at all. "She didn't tell me anything."

"Which is why she told me, genius. Something about making some cookies or something."

Daniel appeared alarmed. "Uh... and you didn't think to stop her? The last time she baked, we had to redecorate."

Jack raised his eyebrows. "That's spousal loyalty for ya. Wait 'til she hears that. Your ass is hers..." Jack paused and made a face. "It's hers anyway... you know what I mean."

"Sam knows. She was there." Daniel paused. "She asked me to help when she was baking next."

Jack patted Daniel's shoulder. "Hey, have a little faith in the girl. She brought you all home. There's talk of a promotion in the air... and medals for the lot of you, of course, for once again pulling Earth's ass out of the firing line. That must be an interesting collection that you have, Dannyboy."

Daniel smiled slightly as he thought of a decade's worth of civilian honours that he had stored in his office on base because storing them at home had been deemed a security risk if someone else had discovered the medals and questioned the nature of his job. They entered the Infirmary, nodding in greeting at Carolyn as she walked past them.

They approached Cam's bed, noting that Vala wasn't there. Daniel frowned a little and Jack remarked, seeing the expression on the Archaeologist's face, "Stop that. You'll get even more lines." He paused. "She's probably gone to the bathroom, for crying out loud. The girl's only human... technically."

Daniel rolled his eyes and sat down at Cam's bedside, watching the Colonel sleep. He looked up at Jack who put a folder on Cam's chest. Cam awoke with a start, muttering, "I'm awake, I'm awa..." He frowned on seeing Daniel and then the folder on his stomach. He looked at Daniel again, this time smirking. "Vala, you done something with your hair?"

Daniel smiled slightly. "Hey Mitchell. How are you feeling?"

"Like crap." Daniel raised his eyebrows, his eyes darting towards the other of the bed to silently signal to Cam the presence of a superior officer. Cam got the message after a moment and attempted to sit up when he turned to see Jack, the General's arms folded across his chest. "General O'Neill, Sir."

Jack shook his head a little in disbelief, wondering if a disregard for one's own wellbeing was solely an SG-1 trait or whether it was a contagion that had been contracted from the original members of the team. "Mitchell, relax. You're all banged up... and anyway, I hate doing that whole 'at ease' thing."

"Sorry, Sir." Cam looked down at the folder which had now slid further down his stomach and he picked it up. "What's this?"

"Some light reading about the mission... Carter's done the performance evaluations and reports due to you being, you know... but no reason why you shouldn't be in the loop."

"Thanks, Sir."

Daniel asked, glancing around their immediate surroundings, "Where's Vala?"

Cam settled back down in his bed as he fingered the edge of the folder. "After Tomin went home, she got a bit upset about things. I told her to go and have a sleep in my quarters. Took quite a fight."

Daniel couldn't help but smile a little as Jack remarked, "Well, you'd be putting her in quarantine if she didn't put up a fight." He patted Cam's shoulder, the Colonel grimacing in pain. "Oops, uh, yeah... is it everything that hurts?"

Cam, his eyes closed, murmured as he tried not to cry. "Yes, Sir."

Jack clenched his fists awkwardly. "Ah. Okay. I better go before I get it into my head to do that again. You take care, okay? I want you back on SG-1 as soon as possible."

Cam replied with a smile, "Sure, Sir... thanks." He lifted the folder. "And for this too."

"Any time."

Jack nodded at Daniel who stood up. "Sam's going to drop by later... and I'm just gonna check on Vala."

"Thanks, buddy. You okay? How are those stitches of yours?"

Daniel shrugged as Jack looked surprised. "I'm fine. Carolyn's taking them out in a fortnight."

"Good."

"Get some rest, Mitchell."

They watched as Cam closed his eyes, the folder on his chest and Jack glared at Daniel. He pointed at him accusingly. "Stitches? Is there anything else that you 'forgot' to mention to me? Did you die at any point?" As they left the Infirmary, Daniel shrugged.

"I'm fine, Jack. Just some cuts and bruises."

"He said stitches."

"Well... he is injured."

"Uh-uh, not buying it."

Daniel retorted, feigning innocence, "Not buying that he's injured? Weren't you in the Infirmary just now?"

Jack glared at him darkly. "Cut the crap, Daniel. I don't know how or why Carter agreed to marry you, because I'm having some serious homicidal urges right now."

"Yeah. You should get that checked out."

Jack grabbed the suddenly shocked Archaeologist by the scruff of the neck, dragging him into a thankfully empty room nearby. Jack shut the door behind them and said, waving around him vaguely, "Get those clothes off now."

Daniel made a face. "Jack, I'm flattered... but I'm engaged."

Jack, frustrated, grumbled as he advanced on the Archaeologist, starting to take his clothes off, "Don't push it. You're not gonna _tell_ me how injured you are." Jack paused, looking concerned as he pulled Daniel's shirt off, seeing the colourful bruising and cuts on his arms, especially on his left arm. He grabbed Daniel's t-shirt, pulling it over his head as he rescued his glasses, and he was dismayed to see more cuts and bruises. "Oh for cryin' out loud, Daniel." He walked behind him to see more on the younger man's back and he shook his head in disapproval. "Ori did all this?"

Daniel folded his arms across his chest defensively. "If by 'Ori', you mean Ori soldiers and a Doci with a bone to pick, then... yeah."

Jack let out a long breath. "Shit..." He glanced down at Daniel's trousers. "I'd say to take your pants off, but I get the picture."

Suddenly the door opened and they both stared at an SF who stared right back at them in shock, quickly hiding a pack of playing cards behind his back on spotting the General. He suddenly apologised as he averted his gaze. "Sorry... Sirs." He quickly closed the door with a smirk and Jack grumbled.

"Great."

Daniel snatched his t-shirt from the older man. "Yeah, we just added more fuel to those rumours. 'Great' is not enough."

"As T would say... 'indeed'."

"Touché."

Jack looked awkward as Daniel tucked his t-shirt back into his trousers. "Sorry about that."

Daniel shrugged. "No, I should be apologising." He put his glasses back on and took his shirt from Jack. "I should have told you."

"How's the leg?"

"It's okay. I can walk without a limp. Doctor Newman gave me a lot of painkillers on the ship, so I was probably acting like a lunatic."

Jack smirked at a memory of Daniel in the past being high on painkillers. "Cheap date, indeed."

Daniel smiled slightly. "Says the man who ran through the entire base, flashing everyone while singing 'Oh Susannah'..."

"Hey!" Jack's voice lowered. "I was in a lot of pain."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Sam, dressed in civilian clothes, smiled at each soldier, Linguist, Archaeologist or scientist who looked at her oddly, and she wondered whether some of them had spent so long in uniform that they had forgotten what 'normal' clothes looked like... or maybe the sight of her in such clothes was proving a little much for them. She glanced down at the brown paper bag that she was carrying and smiled again. She just had to visit Cam and then go and find her fiancé so she could go home with him.

She was on her way to Daniel's office to check on him and apologise for going home without saying anything to him. However, as she went past the locker room, the door opened and out came Daniel in jeans and a dark top, shrugging on a brown jacket. He looked at her with a surprised smile and she grinned, hugging him.

"Hey!"

He hummed a little and kissed her as he held her. "Hey yourself. You're wearing my favourite sweater."

She laughed softly. "Liar."

He smiled sheepishly. "Well, they're all my favourites... but I like this one. It's a nice shade of blue."

She suddenly looked down, seeing that his hand was edging towards the bag that she held. "Nice try, buster."

He pouted. "_I'm_ the one marrying you... I think I should get some consolation."

She playfully swatted him across the chest, and he asked, his eyebrows rising briefly, "Do we still have a house to go home to?"

"Daniel!"

"Can I at least look?"

She rolled her eyes as she handed him the bag. "Fine."

He opened the bag and smiled as he sniffed, closing his eyes. "These smell good."

"Flattery will get you nowhere."

"Nice try though, wasn't it?" He smiled as he closed the top of the bag. "Seriously though, they do smell good." He looked at her hopefully.

She smiled, looking even more pleased with herself. "You can have some at home."

"_If_ we have a home to go back to..."

"Yeah. Not looking likely now."

"You gonna see him now?"

She nodded and he slipped an arm around her waist as they walked. "Might as well do it soon... Carolyn's trying to let the guy rest."

She leaned into his embrace, an arm around his waist. "Where's Vala?"

"Vala's having a sleep in Mitchell's quarters. She's going back to the Infirmary to spend the night."

"Right." Sam looked concerned. "She's been through a lot. Has Tomin gone?"

"Yeah... and the Apollo took the Prior back home as well." He frowned. "The IOA are taking the Ark to Area 51 for further testing."

She looked dismayed. "That's just... wrong."

"Yeah." They stopped right before they reached the Infirmary and he whispered in her ear, the couple looking to anyone else as though they were enjoying a private moment, "I fiddled with the programming. They won't be able to use it."

She looked surprised. "But..." She whispered in reply, "... you could have called me."

"No. I wouldn't jeopardise things for you like that. Anyway, it's done now."

She said, glancing at the doorway to the Infirmary, "Speaking of the IOA... they want to meet Cam when he's up and about. Something about an apology."

"About time."

"Yeah." She glanced at the doorway again. "I won't be lo..." She grinned on seeing Teal'c approach them and she said, waving, "Teal'c! Hi!"

Teal'c smiled as he joined them. "ColonelCarter, DanielJackson. Are you not returning to your domicile yet?"

Daniel glanced at Sam who replied, "Just going to see Cam. How are you doing?" She looked concerned. "Daniel told me that you were shot, _and_ that you'd been thrown against a wall."

"I am not injured. I do not know how I healed from my previous injuries. I will admit that I was in pain on being thrown against a wall by the Doci on Ortus Mallum, but the pain has mostly gone."

Daniel asked, surprised, "You're still in pain? You didn't say anything."

"It is of no consequence. I have had far worse pain during my lifetime."

Sam hid a smile on seeing pride in Teal'c's eyes. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I am fine." He nodded to both of them. "I will see you another time. Farewell."

Daniel nodded. "Have a good night, Teal'c."

"May you as well."

They watched Teal'c go and Sam looked at Daniel in concern. "Typical, huh?"

"He's fine. It takes a lot for him to be not okay."

"Still a worry."

"I know." He kissed her softly and then handed her the bag that he still held. "I'll be right here."

She smiled at him and then entered the Infirmary as Jack appeared again. He glanced at Daniel. "You okay?"

"Yeah, fine. You not going home yet?"

Jack made a face. "Anyone would think that you didn't want me around." He smirked. "You tell Carter what happened earlier?"

"No."

"You gonna?"

"Maybe."

"Yeah... I'll know when she comes to blow my place up."

Daniel smiled slightly. "What about Sara?"

Jack shrugged. "I'm coming down here to see if you guys have finished that _top secret mission_ of yours so we can all get married... after Mitchell's healed of course." He paused. "Nah, we rented a little house not far from you and Carter. I'm going home when you guys stop being so interesting."

"That will be _never_ then..."

"Yeah, like I could find _you_ interesting."

"Puh-lease... you're my stalker. Even when you're in D.C., I get at least five emails from you every day." Daniel smirked. "I liked the one parodying the major types of chain letters. The one that's been in circulation since 1897 gave me and Sam a good laugh a few weeks back."

"Yeah, thought you'd like that. My favourite was the orphan kid from Baklaliviatatlaglooshen with no arms, legs or a wang."

"I'm just surprised you bothered to pronounce the name."

"Yeah. It was a fun two hours at work. Scared the hell out of my PA. Nothing new there."


	18. Chapter 18

_Thanks to Hazmot for pointing out something, although to be honest, I think tptb forgot about the healing device as well, lol. (no surprise there – hardly sticklers for their own canon, are they?) :o)_

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Daniel mumbled as he munched on a macaroon, his eyes closed, "Mmm. I'm glad I'm marrying you. These are great." He reached for another one. Laughing, Sam lightly punched his arm as they leaned against a worktop. She feigned shock.

"You're only marrying me because I kicked ass making some macaroons?"

He swallowed, and then smiled as he gazed at her. He raised a finger as though to make a point. "You didn't blow our house up. That's a trait that any man would love in a woman."

She shook her head in disbelief and then leaned against him, her head on his shoulder. He asked, mumbling around another mouthful of macaroon, "Do you want some?"

She made a face. "I don't like macaroons much. I guess it's the coconut. When Cam made some for me, I could have sworn they were more coconut than macaroon."

He chuckled. "They're mostly coconut anyway." He smiled at her teasingly. "You eat Mounds."

She shrugged and then smiled as she looked up at him a touch coyly. "Well, you like them... and they _are_ covered in chocolate. Kinda distracts me from the coconut."

He grinned. "I like chocolate." He glanced at the tray of macaroons next to him. "Hey, you know, we could make some cookies. Not now though because I'm sure that you're thinking of the same thing I am." He raised his eyebrows suggestively.

She laughed softly as she hugged him from the side. "Daniel, you are incorrigible." She paused, looking up at him, her head still on his shoulder. "How are you feeling?"

He shrugged a little. "Still in pain, if that's what you're asking. Carolyn insisted on putting me on a lower dose of painkillers."

She smiled. "You're disappointed."

He kissed her forehead. "I usually hate the high, but it's different when I'm with you. I don't have to worry about acting like an idiot because I do it anyway."

"Oh Daniel..." She readjusted her arms around him. "You don't." She laughed a little. "Well, not all of the time." She smiled as he kissed her, her hand on his shoulder as he slid his hands down her waist. "You taste of macaroons."

"Are you going to stop kissing me now?"

She stood on tip toe as she held onto his shoulders. "That would be impossible."

He murmured against her lips as he moved some hair from her face, "Good."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Daniel lie tucked in bed, watching Sam undress, a smile on his face. He remarked as he shifted a little to get a better view, "Well... just got to wait for Mitchell to heal, and then we can get down to the whole wedding business again."

She sighed as she put her pyjamas on far slower than usual. "Yeah. Can you imagine how much more pain he'd be in now if Vala hadn't used the healing device? It took so much out of her though – Carolyn had to grab the device from her so she didn't collapse."

He murmured distractedly, "Yeah. It takes a lot of mental energy... and Vala was already pretty drained what with the whole Tomin thing as well as what happened on Ortus Mallum."

"Hmm. Yeah." Worried, she joined him under the covers as he instantly held her. "You know, you never told me exactly what happened." He shook his head, but she persisted, wanting to know exactly what had happened to him. "Tell me. I need to know."

She watched him in the soft light of the bedside lamp as he looked up at the ceiling. He closed his eyes and remembered everything. He said quietly, his voice sounding congested and a little hoarse, "The Doci... he used my own fears against me." He met her gaze as she looked up at him, scared and concerned. She was upset to see tears in his eyes. "Losing you, and everyone... my parents, Teal'c, Jack, Mitchell, Vala... some other stuff." He sniffed and shook his head, his eyes closing again. "I don't want to think about it, Sam. I know I should try to deal with it, but... I can't. Not right now."

Quietly crying as she had inkling of what he had been through, she peppered kisses all over his face. She whispered, her hair falling around him as she leaned over him, "When you're ready, I want you to tell me everything."

He nodded as he gazed up at her. "I'll try. It won't be easy..." He chuckled humourlessly as he looked away from her, looking troubled. "... you know that. I guess I've just got to work things out in my head first, you know?" He smiled a little as he reached up to play with a strand of her hair, changing the subject. "I really love your hair at this length."

She decided to let her worries go for the moment, knowing that in time, he would share the memories of his ordeal with her. She smiled as she lowered her lips to his. "I'll admit that it took a lot of getting used to after having short hair for so long, but you know... I get this really nice girly feeling..." Her smile widened as he looked amused. "... and you seem to like it."

"That I do..."

She continued to smile as she lie down next to him and she asked as she rubbed his arm, "How's your arm?"

He shrugged. "I've had worse."

She sighed. "Unfortunately... that's not far from the truth."

"You worry too much."

"Someone has to." She suddenly smirked mischievously. "Evidently your boyfriend does as well."

He looked at her in confusion and then closed his eyes, groaning. "If I ever find that Airman, you can hold him down while I shove his playing cards where the sun doesn't shine."

She snorted with laughter at the belligerent expression on his face, and he frowned as he looked at her. "You never said anything."

"I was waiting for you to say something."

"I was going to."

She raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. When we retired." She paused. "So you gonna tell me why General O'Neill was apparently banging my fiancé?" He looked at her in disbelief and she shrugged. "Hey, don't shoot the... grape vine eavesdropper."

He frowned, looking annoyed. "I happened to mention stitches to Mitchell while Jack was there."

She chuckled. "Uh-oh, bad idea."

"Yeah, tell me about it. When we left Mitchell, Jack practically dragged me into a room and took my clothes off. An Airman walked in on us while I was half-naked... which must have resulted in a gossip explosion. Who did you hear it from?"

She smiled as she snuggled up to him. "Cam overheard a couple of nurses expressing their utter disbelief... and disappointment that you're gay. He seemed to think it was the funniest thing in the world when they worked out the odds of me killing Jack when I 'found out'."

He looked grumpy. "He would." He looked at her, a little confused. "You're surprisingly okay about this piece of gossip. You went after Carolyn and half the nurses with a training stick when someone spread a rumour that they had naked pictures of me."

She shrugged, sounding defensive at first. "Oh come on... you've seen how they look at you... even if you won't admit that it's anything but friendly or professional." She leaned over him again. "I know you're not gay, Daniel. That's been..." She smiled contentedly. "... repeatedly obvious. I'm not sure about the General when he's around you sometimes, but I don't care."

"Well, all's well that ends well. Speaking of which..."

"Oh... if the guys could see you now."

He groaned as he held her a little tighter. "Sam. I'm not that injured."

She looked at him in dismay. "Not _that_ injured? Daniel, you've got stitches!"

"On my shin!"

"And then there's all the bruising that you have and the cuts and..."

He pouted, looking grumpy again. "You know, most women just say they have a headache."

She smiled slightly as she rested a hand on his lower back when he turned onto his side. "I'm doing this for you... because you are definitely not fit enough for the things I mentioned on the Odyssey."

"Says you." He closed his eyes. "Sam..."

"You know, when it comes down to it, you can be a typical guy sometimes."

He rolled his eyes. "Hello, Y chromosome here."

She laughed. "You're so cute when you're grumpy."

"Well, you give me enough practice."

She lightly traced the barely visible cuts on his face, a thoughtful expression on her own face. He kissed her fingertips when they reached his lips, and she smiled a little before kissing him gently. She lie at his side, facing him as he lie on his side too, undoing her pyjama top. He reluctantly stopped when she pulled his t-shirt off, and then they giggled as they took their own clothes off to expedite matters. They went back to each other's arms, his lips going her throat as she groaned, her fingertips gliding up and down his back and neck.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Cam woke up, his eyes still closed as he slowly moved each part of his body, checking his pain levels. He moaned a little and eventually opened his eyes, realising that it was still night-time as the Infirmary lights had been dimmed. He wondered how long he had been asleep. His eyes moved to his left to see Vala curled up in a chair, sound asleep. He smiled weakly as he watched her, more than grateful to still have her in his life.

Not wanting to wake her, he grimaced silently, looking very much in pain as he sat up, fighting the urge to scream. He managed to get up, steadying himself against his bed as he felt a little dizzy, having not stood up for at least a couple of days. He stretched a little, mouthing a pained scream when he moved something that he probably shouldn't have. He rubbed a shoulder and looked down at his fiancée. Ignoring the pain that every single movement brought on, he carefully picked her up in his arms, struggling not to drop her or to grunt. He lay her down on his bed, pulling her boots off, looking worried that they hadn't even been tied in the first place. He smoothed her hair and then sat down in her chair, again mouthing a scream as he slowly lowered himself into it.

He moved the chair closer to the bed and rested his head on it, closing his eyes and breathing through most of the pain as he rested a hand on her hip.

A few minutes later, Vala woke up, confused at being in a bed. For one scary moment, she thought that perhaps she had been injured somehow but then she remembered where she had been before finding herself in an Infirmary bed. She had been at Cameron's bedside. She carefully turned over, feeling something on her hip as she quickly assessed the situation.

All thoughts of looking for an escape from a captor flew out of the door on seeing Cameron seated where she had been sleeping earlier, his head on the bed as he slept, looking very uncomfortable. She appeared troubled as she touched his hair tenderly and she got up. The movement woke the Colonel and he asked in a groggy voice as he tried to sit up,

"Baby?"

She helped him sit back into the chair as she said, shaking her head as she looked worried, "Cameron. You can't do this. Get back into bed."

His eyes closed, he said quietly, "You need to rest."

"You need more rest than I do right now. You're going to impede your recovery if you do things like this. You're in a _lot_ of pain right now and... just you wait 'til that scary doctor finds out. Wait, no, _I_ should be more of a threat here. What were you thinking?"

He groaned. "Oh, come on..."

"No, don't 'oh, come on' me. Get back right now."

He groaned again. "I just want to go home and sleep. I hate being here."

"Well, as I understand it, you're not supposed to prefer this place." She tugged him to his feet as he moaned pitifully. "Cameron, stop it."

He whined. "I can't help it."

"You should have thought about that before risking your health by getting out of bed and picking me up." She shook her head in disbelief. "You know, I wouldn't be surprised now if you and Daniel were actually related." She smiled a little, heaving him back into his bed. "I thought you were anyway but that was because of the limited gene pool in this part of your fair planet."

He smiled weakly, grimacing periodically as she covered him up. "You know, it's your planet as well."

She shrugged, paying a little more attention than was necessary in tucking his blankets in. "I wasn't born here."

He reached up to touch her face as she looked down at him. "It's still home... for as long as you want it."

She smiled, suddenly tearful as she leaned down to kiss him. "Well, then... I doubt whether I would not want it at any point." He smiled too and she said as she smoothed his brow, "Go to sleep. I'm not going anywhere."

As he closed his eyes, he said softly, "Go back to my quarters. That chair is _not_ comfy."

"Oh, like that's going to happen." She dropped back into her chair and held his hand as she watched over him. She kissed his hand, resting her face against it as she whispered, "You know, I'm going to have to get used to using your last name... when we eventually tie the matrimonial knot."

He murmured, his eyes still closed, "Oh, baby... you don't have to. That's just some old Earth tradition. I don't own you."

She smiled and kissed his hand again. "That's what Daniel told Samantha... and she's taking his last name on account that she knows he respects her as a person."

He opened his eyes a little as he looked up at her. "Vala... your last name is a part of who you are. I don't want you running away from that. God knows you spent all those years running anyway from things and hiding. I'm flattered you want my name, but..."

"But nothing. If it will make you happy, I could always put them together."

He smiled. "I'm happy whichever name you go for." He closed his eyes once again and groaned. "We might end up getting married here at this rate."


	19. Chapter 19

In civilian clothes and carrying two cups of coffee, Sam walked through the corridors of the SGC, intending to join her fiancé and her friends in the Infirmary as they continued a vigil at Cam's bedside. She nodded and smiled at various people that she knew who passed her. She had turned at a junction in the corridor when she heard Landry's voice.

"Colonel Carter."

She stopped and turned to see the General coming towards her. She helplessly glanced down at the cups that she held, a little embarrassed at being so informal in front of him in general appearance. "General Landry."

He smiled slightly as he stood in front of her. "Before you incur my daughter's wrath by sneaking in coffee for Colonel Mitchell, I would like to have a word with you in my office."

She looked a little awkward. "Right now, Sir?"

"If it's not a problem."

"Of course, not, Sir." She walked with him towards the lifts, inwardly disappointed that she wouldn't be with her friends when she had hoped to be. She asked, trying to look more curious than inconvenienced, "Any particular reason?"

"Don't worry. It's good news... most of it anyway."

When the lift doors opened, he gestured for her to go in first, and he followed her before selecting a floor. As the lift doors closed, a troubled Sam could contain herself no longer as she glanced at her superior officer. "Is there anything wrong, Sir?"

He looked at her, giving nothing away. "No, nothing wrong, Colonel." He paused. "How is Colonel Mitchell? I was only able to visit him very briefly last night."

She frowned briefly at the swift change in subject and replied, not wanting to challenge him, "Much better than he has been in the past week, Sir. He's definitely improving. He was able to walk the length of the Infirmary with a cane earlier, but he's still in considerable pain. Carolyn said that he could be discharged soon so he could rest at home."

He nodded as the lift stopped his descent into the bowels of the mountain. "I heard about that. It's good." They left the lift and he looked at her. "Then he and Vala, you and Doctor Jackson, and Jack and Sara can finally get back on track."

She smiled, a touch embarrassed at discussing such matters with someone who preferred to keep a professional distance from his subordinates when it came to matters of a social nature. "Yes, Sir."

"I've got to wonder whether Teal'c will join in."

"Not sure about that. He and Ish'ta have a very volatile relationship at present."

"Which man and woman in a long-term relationship doesn't?" They entered the briefing room, walking through it to his office. He stepped aside and held the door open for her as she went in. She stopped in surprise on seeing Jack seated at the desk.

Jack remarked, raising his eyebrows slowly on seeing the coffee, "Buttering up your commanding officers, Carter?"

Sam looked confused for a moment and then glanced down at the coffees that she was holding as Landry sat down near the other General. "Oh, these are for Daniel and Vala. I was on my way back to the Infirmary." She smiled slightly as she sat down. "You wouldn't like either, I'm sure, Sir, because one's a Sumatra Mandheling with one cream and two sugars, and the other's a Mocha Latte with seven sugars."

As Landry mildly smirked, Jack raised his eyebrows again. "Excuse me? _Seven_? Don't tell me that's Danny's... you know what happens when he gets a sugar rush."

She smiled slightly. "That's Vala's."

"Damn." He glanced at Landry and then said, leaning forward a little, his hands clasped on the surface of the desk as Sam put the cups down. "Anyway, Colonel." Sam immediately straightened up in her seat on detecting the formal tone in his voice. "You've been called here for a reason. Quite a big reason." He paused as he gauged her reaction, which, for the moment was general but polite bewilderment. "How are those medals of yours doing?"

Bemused, she smiled a little as she remembered a medal ceremony in the gateroom, and then in the Infirmary for Cam. "Uh... they're fine, Sir."

"How many Purple Hearts do you have now?"

"I think it's about thirty-eight... but Ca... uh, Colonel Mitchell's catching up."

"I'll bet." He levelled his gaze. "Carter. How do you feel about getting another promotion?"

She blinked in surprise. "Of rank or command, Sir?"

Jack smirked a little as he glanced at Landry. "How about both?" Her eyes widened and he continued as he pushed a small white envelope across the desk, towards her, "You've been an L T Colonel for long enough." Awe-struck, she turned the envelope over in her hands for a long moment before slowly opening it. "You're now a full bird Colonel. Ceremony and such later. Got some business to get down to for now."

Sam stared at him in shock, overcome by the fact that she was being promoted. She asked haltingly, fighting for some control over her voice, "Business?"

"Oh yeah." Jack appeared awkward and then looked at Landry. "It's your base... and I'd rather not do this bit anyhow."

Sam looked at Landry curiously, the SGC commander saying after a moment of hesitation, "As you already know..." He slid a file across the desk towards her. "... Midway is nearing completion. It isn't much, but we're looking for someone to supervise the final stages of completion. Doctor Lee is already on-board... however, we would like someone with your level of expertise, and with your standing and reputation, to co-ordinate and manage the construction to ensure that the station is completed on time."

She stared at Landry. She couldn't believe her ears. While she was excited at the prospect of visiting Midway in such a capacity, she knew what it would entail. She would be leaving everyone behind. She would be leaving Daniel behind. She knew it wasn't permanent. She had tried to keep up with the reports of the station's development and knew that it was only a few months from completion, but that length of an absence from everyone that she loved... it would be too much.

She closed her eyes and hung her head, torn between duty and her personal feelings as the Generals exchanged an awkward glance, knowing what she was going through her head. She finally shook her head and looked at them, and then at Landry.

"With all respect, Sir, I'm going to have to talk this over with Daniel. It's a long way... and by my estimations from the last report that I was forwarded, the station isn't due to be completed for another four or maybe five months. That is a long time... present circumstances considering."

Jack waved awkwardly. "Well, Carter... I hate to say this, but you're the only person for the job. You've got the sciency stuff going down as well as the leadership experience. This could be a stepping stone for other commands."

Sam nodded. "Yes, Sir. I understand. And I would like to thank you for the offer... but if I agree to go, I'm going to have to leave soon, which, with all respect, is impractical."

"I hear ya. Just as well Mitchell's coming along in leaps and bounds." He lightly patted the surface of the desk, his tone lifting. "Well, think about it, talk things over with Daniel, and let us know what you're doing."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

A concerned Daniel left the Infirmary when Sam didn't return from the Commissary after a long time. Ignoring odd looks from various personnel, he checked the Commissary and then took the lift back down to the level where he had come from, to go to Sam's lab. He found the door closed and he gently pushed it, calling softly,

"Sam?"

He found her sat at her work table in the dark, turning what looked to be a piece of paper in her hands. Concerned that she didn't seem as upbeat as she had the last time he had seen her, he switched the lights on and closed the door. He sat down next to her and noticed on further inspection that she was holding an envelope. Slowly taking it from her to give her a chance to stop him from doing so, he noticed the Air Force logo on the front, in the top right corner, and Sam's name and the address of the base printed in a no-nonsense font. He opened it, pulling out a piece of paper, which he unfolded.

His jaw almost dropped in surprise on realising what it was. He gave her hand a squeeze and said with a proud yet still concerned smile, "Congratulations."

He realised then that she had been crying when she leaned against him, her head against his shoulder. She whispered, trembling, "They want me to go to Midway for a few months... to supervise things until the station's finished."

His stomach felt as though it was sinking as he stared at her, her words and their relative implications sinking in. "That's... that's... When do they want you to go?"

She sniffed as he put an arm around her. "Generals Landry and O'Neill don't want to rush me, but I know that the station's nearly finished. They'll want me to go soon... or at least after Cam's health improves so SG-1 isn't without a fit military lead. I don't know what I'm going to do. They need me out there... that much I know." She began to cry again. "I know it's important, but I don't want to go... not now. It just seems like each time we want to get married, something else comes up or tries to get in the way." She sniffed again as she held onto him. "If I go, we'll end up rushing things... and we can't. Not now. Cam's still not a hundred percent, and..." She sighed, feeling overwhelmed by everything in their lives.

He held her in his arms, and sighed too, unsure of how to feel. He kissed her brow and whispered as he gazed down at her, "Sam... listen to me. We're going to be fine. We can get married when you come back. It's okay. Maybe we could talk to Mitchell and Vala, and Jack and Sara about the whole thing. We won't have that triple wedding, but let's be honest here... it would have been an amazing feat to pull off, having three weddings at the same time, of mostly SG-1 members... especially taking into account our track records."

She shook her head. "Daniel... I don't want to screw our plans up." She groaned softly. "But I don't want them to have to wait for me... that would be seriously lame... taking into account that anything could happen between now and when I come back. We've done so much work already for our collective big day before the business with the Ark... and now this."

"Oh Sam..." He rested his head against hers as he tried not to let his guard down enough to cry. He felt the need to support her in a difficult decision right now. Tears could come later when he was alone, or when Sam wasn't as emotionally fragile as she was now. "... it's okay... or at least it will be." He hugged her. "We've already waited to get married... we can wait a little more. Perhaps we could persuade Mitchell and Vala to go ahead without us. Jack's definitely not going to agree to get married without us, but..." He smiled briefly. "Finally you're getting a command, temporary as it may be, that appeals to your scientific side as much as this is going to. You've always wanted to go to Midway again. This is your chance."

"I'll be gone for..."

"It doesn't matter. I'd wait for you forever. I think they need you almost as much as I do, which is a lot."

She smiled through her tears, her head against his chest, the Astrophysicist soothed by the sound of his heartbeat. "Well... I'm glad and a little worried that you're openly admitting that you need me." She kissed him on the cheek. "You always seem to know what to say to make me feel better."

He looked surprised. "You feel better after my insane rambling?"

She smiled and ruffled his hair affectionately as he scowled. "You know what that does to me." Her smile faded. "You do realise what this means, don't you, Daniel?" Her completely vanished, replaced by an expression of dread and barely concealed pain. "Midway is between the Milky Way and Pegasus. The Wraith have made it to Earth before now... it's possible that they could reach Midway."

He shook his head, not wanting to think about the negative implications of her leaving for Midway. His voice sounded congested, his tone forceful. "No, they're not going to, okay? They're not. You're only going for a few months." He suddenly blinked back tears. "I'm not going to lose you. You're just there to make sure things go as planned and then you're coming back." He held onto her tightly, closing his eyes as he tried to shore up memories of her for what he knew would be a hard few months for him at least.

She hugged him too, whispering, "Daniel... I'm coming back."

"That's the spirit." He gazed at her, trying to keep the sadness from his gaze, but failing. "Come on, let's go break the news to Mitchell and Vala."


	20. Chapter 20

_Sorry for the delay in updating. Had a lot of stuff on this past week. Anyway... part of this chapter is from a discussion with srcrib and Nyx Ro on the practicalities of Sam and Daniel deciding to make babies._

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

As Vala and Sam helped Cam back into his bed after he had returned from a physiotherapy session, the brown-haired Colonel shook his head. "Hell, no." He looked at Sam, who was now tucking his blankets in, and at Daniel who stood beside Vala, who was straightening Cam's scrubs. "We had a deal. All six of us... eight if Teal'c got his act together with Ish'ta." His gaze returned to Sam as she straightened a pillow. "You could always get married before you go to Midway."

Sam glanced at Daniel and then at Cam, sorrow on her face. "Cam... it wouldn't be fair on either of us... getting married only for me to go away for a few months straight afterwards."

Cam reached for her hand and looked up at her, knowing part of her fears at least. "Sam... if you're worried about... you know... Jackson would get a pension."

Daniel looked down at his feet awkwardly, not wanting to consider the possibility yet again that he would lose his fiancée. Sam, meanwhile, replied, trying not to look as sad as she felt while Vala watched her in concern, "It's not that... and besides, if anything were to happen, he's covered in my Will as well." She sat down in a chair next to his bed and said as she rested her elbows on the edge of the mattress, "What I... _we're_ worried about is the impracticality of it all. You guys are planning a honeymoon..."

Vala glanced at Cam, and said, "We won't have it if you go to Midway. That doesn't mean you have to postpone your wedding."

Sam shook her head. "Vala... please. This isn't a choice that either of us have made lightly."

She sighed and looked up at Daniel, who said, cocking his head briefly, "We'll get married when Sam comes back. But in the meantime, it's not fair on you guys if you have to wait."

Cam and Vala exchanged a glance, hearing loud and clear what had been unsaid, and they both shook their heads. Cam said softly, gazing up at his fiancée, "Baby? What do you think?"

Vala replied defiantly as Sam and Daniel exchanged an odd look, "I think we wait. This is SG-1 after all." She glanced around the Infirmary and shrugged. "Well, four-fifths of this merry band anyway..." She made an expansive gesture as she looked at her other team-mates. "My point though is that we're a team. We rarely go to places without each other... like the first time Daniel managed to go to Atlantis."

Daniel silently brooded as he thought of the times he had tried to go to the Lost City and he eventually replied, "But we're trouble magnets... and that trait seems to be amplified when we try to do things together _as_ a team."

"Pfft. Says the man who has a list of injuries, deaths, and abductions that is close to rivalling the list of names on the Veterans Wall."

Sam smiled a little in amusement at the remark while Daniel brooded yet again. The Astrophysicist then said, "Look, guys... the last time we tried to get married, we ended up finding the Ark of Truth."

Daniel pointed to her briefly as though she had made a point. "Exactly. We could end up on another quest or something, and that's something I for one don't want to go on again any time soon." He sighed as he perched on the edge of Cam's bed, the Archaeologist pinching the bridge of his nose before looking at the brown-haired Colonel and at Vala. "We'll be there. There's enough time before Sam goes for us to go to your wedding. We just won't be getting married. We didn't want to upset you guys. It's just that if we keep on waiting, we'll all be engaged forever."

Both Cam and Vala shook their heads, the former asking, "What's O'Neill said about this? He can't be happy about it."

Sam pressed her lips together as she watched Daniel, who replied, trying not to look sad, but failing, "He's not happy about it... but he sees where we're coming from, which is why he and Sara are getting married when we get back."

Cam slammed his fist down on his mattress and then grimaced a little. "Well that just fudges it." Vala held the hand that he had hurt, smoothing it gently as he glanced at her with grateful smile before proceeding to glare at Daniel mostly. He exhaled as he considered possibilities and a grudging acceptance settled within him. He looked at Vala once more. He then looked at Sam. "When have you got to go?"

Sam replied quietly, looking regretful, "The General's trying to hold it off as long as possible, but it's going to be about a month tops, I think."

Daniel, not smiling, said, "Hey, well, look at this way... at least you have more choice about the best man and the bridesmaids."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

A sad Daniel stood in the doorway of the lounge at home, watching as an irate Sam threw couch cushions about as she ranted, the Colonel attempting to relieve her frustration and angst. He flinched a few times as he gauged the severity in which she had thrown some of the cushions. Eventually, Sam, now tired, wearily flopped down onto the couch and put her face in her hands as she cried. Seeing that it was much safer than it had been previously to enter the room, he joined her on the couch and just held her tightly in his arms as tears silently rolled down his cheeks.

He gently rubbed her back. "Sam... you could always tell Jack that you can't go. He's not going to make you."

She shook her head and whispered shakily between sobs, "And he would get in trouble for having a conflict of interest." She paused. "It's important. I just hate the circumstances."

He kissed her hair. "Are you feeling better after tearing the living room apart?"

"It still sucks." He lie down with her still in his arms, and she continued, her hand idly roving his chest as she gazed at nothing, her eyes red-rimmed, "I don't want to lose any more time with you. I know we've not really discussed it seriously because of my age and our weird jobs, but I really wanted to try for a baby. I don't know if I'd be able to conceive in the first place let alone successfully carry a baby to term, but, you know, at least we'll have tried."

He continued to rub her back as he looked up at the ceiling with a thoughtful expression. "You won't be gone for long. Don't think about it now otherwise you won't be much use to all those other people who need you." His hand moved to in between her shoulder blades and he gazed wistfully at the fair-head on his chest. "You know... I've been thinking. I might take early retirement."

Her head shot up and she looked up at him, confused. "What?"

"Well, we could find all the Ba'al clones eventually, so I'm not planning on doing it right now, but you know, whenever we get a family, even if we adopt, it'll make more sense for me to be the primary caregiver because you get paid more than I do. You'd end up having take a cut if you had to downgrade your combat status."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "You've thought about it before."

He slowly caressed the curve of her jaw. "I'm not a young man any more, Sam. Of course I have. I did some research... and asked Jack about things."

She frowned. "You _told_ Jack before your own fiancée?"

He grimaced and looked away from her briefly. "Sam... I just wanted to know what was involved. I wasn't seriously considering it before... but I am in the not-quite-so-distant future."

She appeared pensive. "You'd give up your job for me?"

"Come on, Sam... of course I would, but... there are a lot of reasons. One: your pay; two: your career progression... seriously, how far am I going to get? You've been promoted to full Colonel... you could even make General..."

She tried to smile. "Don't be silly."

"You're only one rank away and you've still got plenty of progression in your job."

She looked at him, incredulous. "So have you! What do you think is going to happen when they publicise the Stargate? The Ori are gone... it's quite possible that it'll happen in the next couple... maybe few years. The President was very interested to know how that alternate universe turned out where the programme had been made public not long after we'd defended Antarctica."

He made a face. "Sam... I don't think the world's ready."

"Is it ever going to be? Will there ever be a time when they'll be ready to know about the wars that have been fought in their name, the lives lost?" She shook her head. "My point is that they'll need you to act as a spokesperson. They can't have a member of our military... because no matter what that person says, they would be wearing a uniform of the armed forces and would represent the United States and its interests. The Stargate is beyond international boundaries and cultures."

He nodded. "I know that. Of course it is. It's just that it's not going to be a cake walk... and to be honest, I think it'll prove to be a divisive issue, like a much larger version of the dispute that we had with Russia over control of the 'gate. The United States doesn't have a reputation for being responsible. It has a reputation alright.. but..."

She punctuated each word with a light smack on his chest. "Which is why we need you." She sighed and rested her head on his chest again as he stroked her hair thoughtfully. "Well, that's something to discuss when I come home again." She smiled slightly as she changed the subject, a distant expression on her face. "I'll probably end up having to have my gown re-fitted." She made a face. "A few months of supervising isn't going to keep this figure."

He groaned a little as he shifted beneath her. "Oh... I don't care." He ran a hand down her waist. "I always wanted more of you."

She laughed and hit him on the shoulder. He said softly, "Well, you know... before I retire, I'll have to make sure to go to Atlantis to tie up some old research and stuff." He kissed her. "Wanna come with?"

She smiled a little. "Of course. That is if Landry will let us both go." She sighed. "Well, when we find all the Ba'al clones, I think I may as well consider my options too. Maybe we could go on vacation."

"That would be great. It's a miracle that we've even managed to have a relationship in the first place, considering how much of our lives are taken up by our jobs. We're rota'd in for one more mission before you go... which seems silly to me, but I guess life goes on."

"Hmm."

She closed her eyes, and he whispered after a moment, "Hey, do you want to go out? We could go somewhere nice and try to forget at least most of the stuff on our minds."

She smiled as she raised her head to look down at him. She kissed the tip of his nose and remarked suggestively, "Only if we come back early..."

He smiled too, his cheeks reddening as he touched her lips with his fingertips. "I thought that was the whole point."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Cam lie in his quarters on base with Vala at his side. He stared up at the ceiling, an arm around her as she, her arm across his bandaged stomach, looked up at him. The Colonel let out a long breath and said quietly, a pensive expression on his face, "Looks like it's just us then. Man... I was all set on this triple shebang."

Vala replied, "Me too. I think it would have been rather symbolic too." She smirked as he turned his head to look at her. "And you've got to admit that it would be a huge turn-on if you knew that at the same time we were having utterly wild sex, everyone else was doing the same."

He laughed and then cringed. "Holy heck, that would be more creepy than kinky. I mean..." He waved a hand around as though he was searching for words. "... the thought of O'Neill and his missus... come on. And I'm not sure I want to be imagining what Jackson and Sam are doing to each other." He shuddered a little.

She kissed his shoulder, resting her head beneath his chin. "Too bad. It just makes me think of those org..."

"Vala!"

She opened her eyes and looked at the glaring yet reddening Colonel in amusement. "What? We're naked, in your bed, and you're embarrassed about _my_ past? You weren't so discriminating a week before the mission when we ended up..."

"Uh... yeah." He sighed and then his expression softened as he kissed her, deliberately changing the subject. "Maybe I was hoping for too much. You know how I always try to get everyone together... like movie nights at our place and stuff. Maybe expecting us all to get married on the same day was going a little too far."

"It wasn't your idea. It was Jack's."

He shrugged. "Well, from one SG-1 leader to another... At least this way, I can have Jackson as my best man."

"Weren't you considering Darrell?"

He rolled his eyes, aware that his childhood friend was attracted to his fiancée. "Hell, no. He can make eyes at you from the pew."

She chuckled. "You're surprisingly cute when you're defensive."

"Well, someone has to be." He nuzzled her throat, smiling a little when she practically purred.

She placed a hand on his chest, gently stopping him although her eyes were ablaze. "Cameron..." He eventually stopped and frowned, wondering what was wrong. "... you've got to be careful. I'm not sure whether that dour Doctor Lam is going to be happy if you burst another stitch... and I think we've run out of plausible explanations other than the obvious."

He stared at her, gradually becoming amused. "_You're_ worried about coming up with excuses? Baby, no-one will say anything..."

"Ah, but those looks say it all, my dear Colonel." A mischievous expression on her face, she whispered in his ear, "And besides, I plan on turning those embarrassing remarks into action with you."


	21. Chapter 21

As Sam checked her hair in the full-length mirror of a bedroom at Cam's house, Daniel, wearing a tuxedo without the jacket, and with the bow tie undone, wrapped his arms around her waist, his chin resting on her bare shoulder. She smiled at his reflection and he kissed her neck, saying with a soft groan, "Well... one day, it's going to be us."

Her smile became tinged with wistfulness and with the spectre of lost time. "Hopefully." She sighed as she turned around to look at him. "Hopefully it won't be too late. I want to be able to spend more time with you without the Ori over our heads now."

"Same here." He kissed her and then made a face. "Ugh..." He licked his lips tentatively. "Lip gloss... I forgot." He wiped his lips with the back of his hand.

She smiled as she looked away from him, turning back to the mirror to touch up her make-up. "Well, I _was_ about to finish getting ready." She took a step away from him and asked, sliding her hands down her waist over the fabric of the strapless burgundy floor-length gown that she was wearing, "What do you think?" She looked at him nervously.

He smiled and said as he cocked his head to one side, looking thoughtful for a moment as his eyes moved down her body, "I like it." His smile widened as he held her in his arms once again. "But then again, I am biased." He toyed with the ruby necklace that she wore, and was about to kiss her when he, remembering the taste of lip gloss a few moments previously, kissed her neck instead. He murmured as he carefully touched her hair, which, save for her fringe, had been curled, "I wish it was our wedding day today."

She smiled wistfully. "Me too." She then looked amused and proceeded to tie his bow tie as he glanced down at what she was doing before continuing to smile. "... although, I wouldn't get to dress you... and where would be the fun in that?"

He raised an eyebrow mirthfully. "_Dress_ me? I would have thought that going the other way would have been more fun..."

She grinned, glancing down momentarily. "Well... you see, we'd never leave the house... and a certain someone has to be Cam's best man today." Her smile faded a little. "Have you got your speech ready?" He nodded, patting the breast of his jacket, and she continued, "What about the rings?" He hesitated and she was ready to snap at him for being careless when he flashed her a sheepish grin on finding them in his jacket pocket. "Close call there. It's bad enough that two members of SG-1 are getting married today... we don't need anything as relatively trivial as rings going wrong."

"Well, they'd count themselves lucky if that's the only thing that does." He smiled coyly. "So... I hear that it's traditional for the best man and bridesmaid to hook up." He raised his eyebrows teasingly. "How about it?"

She snorted with laughter and then said, "Oh... in that case, I hope Cam's best man is cute."

"He damn well better be."

She tidied his hair. "Aren't you supposed to be helping Cam get ready?"

He shrugged. "His Dad and he are having some personal time. What about you? Aren't you helping Vala?"

She appeared concerned. "Vala's all ready. She just wanted some time alone... you know, to reflect on who can't be here today."

He nodded, worried too. "We could have had her Dad here."

She shook her head. "Even if Vala wanted him here, General Landry would be reluctant to let him back through the 'gate again... especially after last time."

"Oh yeah. Well, anyway, he might be living off the profits of those packing peanuts we gave him."

Sam smiled a little at the memory as she held onto Daniel, her head resting against his. She then sighed as he tightened his embrace. She whispered, suddenly feeling very anxious as it hit her right then just where she would be going not long after the wedding, "You will wait for me, won't you?"

"Do you even need to ask?"

She smiled tearfully. "I guess not."

Tears in his own eyes, he slowly rubbed her back and cracked a joke to break the tension of the moment. "Careful, or my mascara will smudge too."

She snickered and he pressed a gentle kiss to her neck. "We'll be okay. I know it seems like another setback, but we've seen off the Goa'uld, the Replicators... the Ori... I'm not going to lose you. You'll be back in a few months and we'll get married... and we'll probably go to Atlantis together."

She smiled as she looked at nothing, imagining their married life. "I want to look at applying to be adoptive parents." Her smile became tinged with longing. "Or maybe IVF. One last try before nature takes hold."

He continued to rub her back, the Archaeologist looking sad. "Hey... don't talk like that. You can have babies well into your fifties and sixties with IVF."

"But there comes a point, Daniel, when it just isn't worth it. It is going to be substantially harder for someone my age to get pregnant that way than someone like Carolyn... or even Vala, for example... and it's expensive."

His heart felt as though it had left his chest at the thought of creating a life with her. "We can talk about this when you come home or tonight, or whenever. We've got to be happy for our friends right now."

She blinked back tears. "I am happy. It just feels like sometimes I'm losing control of things though. Just when we thought we'd be on the level, something like this crops up. Okay, so it's not permanent, but..."

He shook his head and held her tighter, not wanting to yet again consider a very grave possibility. "No, no, don't you dare say it."

Her voice sounded congested, the Astrophysicist knowing the odds of her returning on time. "Daniel... please..."

"No, you keep bringing this up. I won't let anything happen to you. We... as in all of us... won't stay silent if you're in trouble. Nothing will happen."

Nothing was said for a long moment as they thought of what they had lost, what they still had, and what they could gain. Finally, Daniel kissed Sam's neck again and whispered, knowing that they had things to do, "Sam... go see if Vala's done thinking."

They reluctantly let each other go and she smiled, a touch embarrassed as she dried her eyes, going to the mirror to touch up her make-up again. He gave her a hug from behind and then stepped backwards as she turned to face him. As she gazed at him, she had a strong feeling, despite his assertions and denials, that her command in Midway wouldn't go as planned. Even so, she decided to enjoy the time she had remaining before she would leave for the space station, and she knew that he would wait for her, no matter how long she took. Smiling, she kissed him on the cheek and said as he smiled at her,

"You go and check on Cam then. I'm not having you wallowing in self-pity by yourself." She left the room and he watched the place where she had been with a thoughtful expression on his face. He looked down at the bare ring finger of his left hand, wondering just as much as she was when the Universe would finally let them get married... _if_ it did.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Sam was seated next to Vala in the back-seat of a black and white 1950 Daimler Consort as the car was solemnly driven to a Church by Walter, with Teal'c in the front passenger seat, and Carolyn seated on the other side of Sam from Vala. Sam asked Vala, the bride in a mass of white taffeta that she occasionally fiddled with,

"How are you holding up?"

Vala appeared to gulp, the other female member of SG-1 nodding briefly. "Still feeling nauseous." She closed her eyes for a moment as she rested her head against the seat rest as she considered just how much of a big step she was taking in her relationship with Cam, and not long after her divorce from Tomin. "Yeah. Definitely."

Sam looked concerned, wondering whether it was normal when Teal'c said, glancing back from his seat at the front, "Fear not, ValaMalDoran. Feelings of nauseousness are the norm. You will feel like this until the conclusion of the matrimonial ceremony. And it is understandable that you will feel more nervous than usual... you have recently ended a long-term relationship with Tomin."

Vala exhaled. "Muscles... that doesn't count."

"How does it not?"

Vala waved helplessly. "Uh, well, okay, I admit that I liked him and loved him... but it was nowhere near the way that I love and care about Cameron." She looked down at her colourful bouquet as Sam held her hand in support. "It just wasn't meant to be with Tomin... otherwise I'd be lying to myself. Done too much of that in my life already."

Carolyn leaned over, patting the hand that Sam held. "Hey, you're going to be fine, Vala. Just focus on who you're marrying today."

Sam smiled at the doctor and then at Vala. "Yeah." Sam shrugged. "I'm probably going to feel like this when Daniel and I finally tie the knot, but you know... all that should matter is that you're marrying the person who you really want to marry, and you've been planning it for so long."

Vala raised an eyebrow at her. "Yes... planning it with you and everyone else in mind. You were supposed to be getting married today with Jack and Sara as well... it would have made this a lot easier, knowing that we were all in the same situation."

Sam nodded, looking wistful. "I know. It just hasn't worked out... like all good SG-1 plans." She smiled again, patting Vala's hand. "But I've learnt that over the years, you've just got to make do with what you have. It'll all work out, and one day, we'll be able to laugh about it."

"Laughter is good... except when you're the one being laughed at."

Sam and Carolyn smiled as Teal'c remarked, "Indeed... but it is also good when you can smite the ones laughing at you."

Carolyn caught Sam's eye, the doctor looking perplexed at Teal'c's choice of words. She mouthed, "Smite?"

Sam smiled, and mouthed back, "Daniel."

Carolyn nodded in acknowledgement, everything falling into place as the car pulled to a stop, and Walter called, "Miss Mal Doran, Colonel Carter, Teal'c, and Doctor Lam... we're here."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Inside the Church, Cam stood unaided, the Colonel's injuries sufficiently healed enough so he could walk albeit slowly without a cane some of the time. Looking nervous, he was stood next to Daniel in front of a packed Church, full of SGC personnel, family and friends. There were also framed photographs of those who couldn't be in attendance – Colonel Prendergast, who had died with the Prometheus when it had been blown up above Tegalus, the Colonel having saved the lives of all but around thirty of the ship's personnel; Bryce Ferguson, a friend of Cam's who had died some time after Cam had been given command of SG-1; and Cam's grandmother.

Noticing time and time again just how nervous Cam was, Daniel patted the Colonel on the back. "Hey, you're going to be fine."

Cam hissed. "It's not me I'm worried about. You know my fiancée. What if she gets kidnapped on the way to Church? What if Tomin changes his mind and comes after her? I don't want ten takes of this wedding day. Just once... just once, I'd like to have something go right the first time round."

"Well, that takes practice." Daniel glanced at his watch. "Not long now."

"What are you talking about? She's five minutes late."

"Uh... it's tradition."

"Yeah, sure... Doctor Anthropologist. Is it also traditional for the bride to be kidnapped?"

Daniel raised his eyebrows a little as he remembered something. "Uh, actually, yes it is. Before Greek weddings, it's customary for the groom's friends to kidnap the bride before the wedding... count yourself lucky... the bride's father used to have to pay a ransom to get her back in the old days."

Cam glared at Daniel. "Thanks. You say that knowing full well that my future father-in-law, wherever he is, would rather con than pay for anything..." He paused and frowned. "Where does the groom come in all that?"

Daniel feigned innocence. "It's the groom usually orchestrating the whole thing. They all go out to dinner."

"Damn, I wish you'd told me before. I would've confused any potential kidnappers by hiding out at our friendly neighbourhood Cracker Barrel."

Daniel smiled slightly. "I'll admit that I wouldn't mind going there again."

Cam grinned in triumph but kept his voice down. "Now we're talkin'! So I did convert you to the ways of the Cracker after all..."

Just as Daniel was about to issue a stinging retort, the booming sound of the Church's organ startled them both back into the present, and they, and everyone else, turned as Teal'c, sporting a bowler hat this time, walked a rather nervous yet smiling Vala down the aisle towards them. Both men grinned, Cam finding himself, despite his nervousness and reservations, grinning the most. Daniel caught sight of Sam behind the bride and couldn't help but imagine the day when he would be in Cam's place, and Sam in Vala's. He glanced momentarily back to the pews on hearing some sniffing, expecting Cam's mother or aunts to be the ones crying. Instead, it was Walter, who now blew his nose into a handkerchief while Jack and Landry, flanking him, shot him some odd looks.

The Archaeologist drew his attention back to the bride as the Wedding March finally ended, Vala and Teal'c reaching Cam. Teal'c and Cam solemnly shook hands, a silent promise in Teal'c's eyes that he would severely injure Cam if he hurt Vala. The two then smiled and hugged, Teal'c moving to stand next to Sam and Carolyn, the former of whom now held Vala's bouquet as she grinned across at Daniel while Cam and Vala held hands.

Cam whispered with a small smile as he gazed at his soon-to-be wife, "Hey. You look great."

Vala smiled in reply. "So do you."

"Ready?"

"Yeah." She swallowed, still feeling nervous. "Let's do this."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Sam was perched on Daniel's lap as they and the rest of the guests applauded and cheered while watching Cam and Vala dance for the first time as a married couple. Sam found herself wiping away tears as she watched the couple, glad to see both of them so happy, especially after everything they had been through of late. She leaned back a little into Daniel's embrace when she felt his hand smooth her waist, and he asked quietly,

"Sam?"

She sniffed and then smiled. "I'm fine. Just getting emotional. They look so great together, don't they?" She nodded in thanks when he offered her a tissue and she dabbed at her eyes with it. "Just think... we almost lost the whole team out there."

Daniel sighed softly, knowing what she was talking about. "I know. But we're all here now... and that's all that matters." He smiled a little when she kissed him, the smile vanishing soon afterwards. "I'm gonna miss you like crazy."

Sam nodded as she held onto him tighter. "Me too... but this is just something that has to happen, I guess." She looked out at Cam and Vala once again. "We're just going to have to make do with the time we have left."

Meanwhile, as Cam and Vala slowly moved around the dance floor, their steps smooth and much rehearsed, the dashing Colonel, in his dress uniform but without the cap, whispered with a smile as he gazed down at his new wife, "Told ya it would be easy."

Vala quietly snorted. "Easy?" She paused in thought and then bobbed her head. "Okay, so no invasions or whatnot, but I felt sick for most of this morning."

He smiled as he gazed down at her, his fingertips brushing her jaw tenderly. "Me too. I was all a mess with my legs refusing to co-operate, and plus thinking about what could happen..." He took a moment to kiss her as a few of the guests whooped, cameras flashing all around them. "But a long line of your ex-boyfriends didn't turn up for five rounds of Smackdown, so I'm good. And I'm pretty sure that if anybody wanted to pick a fight, they would have done it by now." He paused. "I'm relieved though. Had too much whumping for one lifetime already." His smile widened as that single moment felt like one long dream to him. "Did I mention that my folks love you? They don't make a habit of it, believe me."

She smiled contentedly, her head against his shoulder as he held her in his arms, the couple still in the centre of the dance floor as their friends began to pair off and join them. "Good." She peeked up at him. "I like them, you know."

He tenderly kissed her forehead. "I know, baby... and I couldn't be any happier that you all get along so well."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Jack watched the man who was in charge of his old team. He still thought of it as his team, and would think no less than that for perhaps the rest of his natural life. The old General liked Mitchell, despite not usually being able to spend much time in Colorado over the past couple of years. The young Colonel reminded him of, well, himself at that age. A hot head, but always ready to put his life on the line instead of risking anyone else's unless it was absolutely necessary... and always having something to say, whatever the situation. But he also knew that time and bitter experience had now since tempered Mitchell's almost-recklessness, and that he had become much more level-headed over the years of his command.

But then, the number of times Daniel alone had gone missing... if the Colonel hadn't developed some sort of level-headedness at least, he would most likely have gone completely mad with worry and stress... and quite possibly grey too. Jack never... or at least tried not to let Daniel forget just who gave him at least some of his grey hair.

It had been hard, admittedly, to watch his team being led by the Colonel. Okay, so Carter had had command prior to Mitchell, but it was easy then to think that it was almost like old times. But times change, and hopefully, so do people. The fact that Sara was not only in the same _city_ as him, but in his arms... was just a living testament to that.

Jack looked down at the face that had been roughened by the bitter squalls of time and pain, but still showed a determination; a strong determination to keep moving no matter how fast and how hard the winds blow, no matter how much rain batters down. In that moment, but not for the first time, he found himself feeling sorry for missing the stages of Sara's life between when he had left her in Chicago well over a decade previously and when they had resumed their relationship. That was time that neither of them would ever get back. He had missed her grow from a beautiful woman into an even more beautiful older woman. He had missed her more than he had, in the past, been willing to admit to himself, never mind to Teal'c and Daniel.

But he had everyone and everything right now. The love of his life was in his arms. His friends were scattered around the dance floor in pairs. His successor-once-removed had just got married to one hell of a Poker player. And even now, even if he wouldn't admit it to Sara, he could feel Charlie's presence... far stronger than he had felt said presence in the past. This time, however, it didn't scare him or make him doubt his sanity... okay, maybe a little bit.

He smiled slightly as he held her a little tighter. The regrets, the past, and the recriminations didn't matter now. All that mattered now was the present, and of course, the future. She had had to be briefed on what he had been doing for the past decade, including, of course, what went on at the SGC. She had taken it surprisingly well... after having to sit down on realising not only how many times he could have died without her knowing the true circumstances in which he could have died, but also that aliens did exist and some of them had come very close to wiping hers and everyone else's lives from existence.

But she was comfortable enough with the whole thing that he too felt comfortable discussing things with her... venting about missions gone wrong, or the times Daniel risked his life needlessly.

He couldn't help but smile a little more on seeing Daniel and Carter kiss, and he raised an eyebrow, surmising by the way that they moved across the dance floor that Carter had drilled some dance moves into the Archaeologist at some point between a disastrous waltz practice and now.

Sara gazed up at him, noticing the smile. Knowing that he rarely smiled liked that, except when he was with her sometimes, she remarked, looking curious, "Spotted the cake yet?"

His attention shifted back to her, his smile still there. "No, have you?" She chuckled and he shrugged a little, knowing from her expression that she was curious about his general demeanour. "I'm just happy."

She grinned. "I figured... either that or you're drugged."

"Damn. Carter tell you about all that crap with the cake?"

"Oh yeah." Sara looked at him sternly. "If you see Kynthia again, I won't be held accountable for my actions." She shot him a sly look. "Laira too." He was about to defend himself when she looked at him challengingly. "You never said anything. I mean, okay, you glossed over some stuff that happened... but you never explicitly told me that..."

He tried to keep his voice down, cringing a little on realising that his old team were now watching both him and Sara in concern. "Because I didn't want to worry you like that... and it was all in the past when we were both hurting. And besides, you never told me about..."

She shot him a scathing look. "We've been over that. _We_ were on a break... a huge break. In fact, I..."

"Exactly. Just because I'm a man doesn't mean I have to pay through the nose for something that happened when we weren't even together. I'm not gonna apologise either. I don't care what the crap in that magazine of yours says. I'm sorry that I never told you stuff... but you know what I'm like." He glanced around at everyone else who were trying to be discreet about glancing over at the couple, and he remarked, "Wanna keep it civil so we don't give these guys more to talk about?"

She shrugged. "Depends if by 'civil', you mean making you sleep on the couch tonight... then, sure."

"You learn that poutiness from Daniel?"

She looked at him, smirking yet somehow looking confused too. "I wonder about you and Daniel sometimes."

"Yeesh. Who told you about..."

She smirked. "No... before Sam told me about you two getting caught in a room together." Her smile faded. "You were never even that close to Charles."

He frowned. "Charles? Who's..." He then realised who she meant. "Ah. Kawalsky. Right. Yeah." He shrugged. "Daniel and I have a thing." He glared and then smirked when she appeared amused. "Not _that_ kinda thing." He looked awkward. "I'll tell you one day."

Knowing that he was rarely emotional forthcoming, Sara nodded and said quietly, but firmly as she rested her head against his chest. "You'd better."

He tenderly kissed the top of her head. "Yeah." He smiled against her temple. "Still wanna marry me?"

"Um..."

Meanwhile, Teal'c stood at the edge of the dance floor, watching the couples twirling and swaying, some laughing. The Jaffa looked outwardly stoic, but inwardly... he was far from stoic. He and Ish'ta had had yet another blazing row the day prior, which had resulted in her refusing to come to Earth for the foreseeable future. That had indirectly resulted in the destruction and loss to the SGC of three of its gym's punch bags.

Despite this, he felt happy for ColonelMitchell and ValaMalDoran... or ValaMitchell. No-one without knowledge of the SGC could have known that the Colonel had not long ago barely survived an altercation with a Replicator-human hybrid while the Odyssey was close to total destruction. And ValaMitchell... as she gazed up at her new husband with such loving, who could have known that she had had to break another man's heart to be with the man that she wanted?

He couldn't help but smirk slightly on sighting O'Neill and his former bride appearing to have a quiet dispute. Despite the frustration on their faces, it was apparent that they did not hate one another. Life was too short, especially in this vocation to continue in-fighting.

His smile was sustained as ColonelCarter and DanielJackson moved past him, looking very much in love and as though they were having much fun. DanielJackson too had what ColonelMitchell referred to as a 'close call', but he and the rest of his friends had triumphed and, as a result of their actions, had triumphed in defeating the Ori, and saving not one, but two galaxies.

Today was indeed a joyous day. They each had much to be thankful for.

He was about to turn away in order to sit alone with his thoughts when he was stirred out of those very same thoughts by a hand on his waist. He turned and said with a nod and a smile on recognising the person, "CassandraFrasier."

Cassie, who wore a similar outfit to Sam and Carolyn, smiled and remarked, dragging him to the dance floor, "Not so fast, T."


	22. Chapter 22

_Lyrics featured are Calico Skies by Paul McCartney. Thanks to Amaranth Traces for reccing the song._

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Cam led the team through the active event horizon and down the gateramp at the SGC to where Landry stood expectantly. The Colonel remarked with a triumphant swing of his hat, "That has got to be the nicest mission we've had to date... no shooting or name-calling... and Woolsey and his boys are there working their official hoo-hah within the same day." He stopped in front of the General and smiled a little. "It's been good, Sir."

Landry smiled slightly as the rest of the team, save for Daniel, looked amused, the Archaeologist looking a little grumpy. "I gathered, Mitchell." The General looked past Cam to Sam, and then said, "Well, you know the drill... the Infirmary, shower and change, and then the briefing room." He smiled a little again, well aware that this would be Sam's last SG-1 mission for a little while. "You have two hours this time."

Cam glanced at his co-command. "Well, if I didn't know any better..."

Daniel jumped in. "And you don't..."

Cam glared a little at Daniel, and continued, "... there could be cake somewhere around here."

Vala retorted, rolling her eyes at her new husband, "It's always cake with you."

"Actually... _no_, it's usually pie with me... but cake's good. Never say 'no' to cake."

As Teal'c smiled slightly through the ensuing argument in an attempt to stop himself from throttling both Mitchells, Cam led his team out, and Landry said, nodding at Daniel, "Doctor Jackson?" Daniel looked back from the door, and the General continued, "If you have a minute..." Daniel looked at Sam for a moment who gave his hand a squeeze before leaving with Teal'c, and the Archaeologist returned to Landry.

"Sir?"

Landry nodded and said, walking to the other doorway leading from the gateroom, "Walk with me, Doctor." The two men left the gateroom in silence. When they were finally alone in the corridor, the hustle and bustle of gateroom operations behind them, Landry glanced at the Archaeologist. "You're grumpy."

Daniel frowned. "Excuse me, Sir?"

Landry shrugged a little. "I would be too if I was in your place and if Kim was in Colonel Carter's place. Hell, I'm grumpy without her anyway." He paused as Daniel looked perplexed and disturbed that the General was telling him about his formerly estranged wife. "Go home early... do something nice for her. I know you're hurting, but snapping at Mitchell... which I know can be quite cathartic, isn't going to help matters."

Daniel sighed softly as his gaze lowered to the ground. He said in a quiet voice, feeling a little awkward about sharing personal confidences with someone who had deliberately or otherwise kept himself just that little bit apart from the personnel that he was in charge of, "I'm hoping..." He looked at the General, barely concealed hope in his eyes. "I talked to Jack... there doesn't seem to be a way out of this for Sam. The last thing I would do is stand in the way of her career, but... she's leaving the galaxy and with all respect, you know the odds of her returning."

"I also know the odds that SG-1 overcome on a regular basis." He patted Daniel on the shoulder. "She'll be fine... Daniel."

"That's my point. We won't know 'til it's too late."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Cam, in civilian clothes, poked his head into Daniel's office on spotting that the door was open and that the light was on. He stared at Vala, who was perched on the front of the Archaeologist's desk, a pile of books next to her as she resumed the reading stint that she had started prior to their mission to Ortus Mallum. He folded his arms across his chest.

"So... I take it that this isn't a phase then?"

Vala, having sensed his presence already, looked up with a smile. "Your language is rather colourful. You know... I have a new respect for Daniel." She closed the book that she had been reading. "... to understand all of these words and their variants, in this language and others... _and_ to be able to use them to your advantage... that is tremendously impressive."

Cam smiled. "Damn straight. That boy's pulled us out of a lot of crap... he's also dropped us into some too... but it's our job. We don't find out things by sitting at home with a remote control or whatever." His smile widened. "Anyway. Come here, you." Vala grinned at him as she bounded towards him and he hugged her tight, spinning her around. When he finally set her on her feet again, he asked, looking a little disappointed, "How come you never hang out at my office? I mean, I know I rarely use it..."

She placed a finger to his lips and then looked around the room as she held onto him. "This place is just so interesting." She chuckled. "Daniel would kill me if he knew how often I come in here, but I like it. It's so peaceful. It's almost like when we're alone together. Nothing else exists outside of this place... it's a time and place all of its own."

He smiled as he kissed her gently. "Well... I'm glad you said 'almost'... otherwise I believe that I would have had to kick Jackson's ass. Sam and I would end up playing soccer with it... and then T would join in... and it'll all be a mess, especially if General O'Neill drops by."

She hummed, a blissful smile on her face as her fingers lightly massaged the back of his neck. He tried to glare at her but failed and ended up smiling back. She pushed his head down so that her lips could capture his, her fingers wandering the back of his head.

Resting his forehead against hers when the kiss had broken, he whispered, his face lit up with love, "Hey... let's go home."

She nodded and then asked with a frown, "Just out of curiosity – where _is_ Daniel?"

He replied as he closed his eyes, his chin now resting against her hair, "Oh... he went on home to pick up mail. Sam had some stuff to tie off here." He paused. "I'm gonna miss her."

She gazed up at him, conviction in her eyes. "She'll be back though."

He smiled a little. "I know... try telling Jackson that." He held her hands. "You ready to go home?"

She nodded with a smile and he smiled back at her. He then slipped an arm around her waist and switched the light off before leaving the office with her. She asked in a bright tone of voice as her own arm went around him as a group of very amused Airmen walked past, their smiles vanishing when Cam glared at them, "So... how many days of catching up on all that enthralling sex do we have?"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Sam sighed as she stood at the front door of her house later that evening, knowing that with all possibility she might never see it again. She closed her eyes for a moment as tears threatened to spill over at the thought, and she composed herself before unlocking the door. She walked in, closing the door behind her as she called while shrugging her jacket off and switching lights on,

"Daniel? I'm home."

Sighing again as she surmised that perhaps he had gone for a walk, she went into the kitchen. Switching the lights on, she almost fell back in surprise on seeing Daniel sat at the kitchen table. When she had got over the shock, she said, shaking her head slightly as she opened the fridge,

"You made me jump." She pulled out a carton of juice from the fridge and closed the door. She then realised that he hadn't said anything since she had arrived. She frowned a little and looked at him in concern. "Daniel?"

He looked up at her, tears and swirling emotions that if anything highlighted his eyes instead of clouding them. "This could be the last time."

She pressed her lips together as tears from earlier returned, and she dropped to her knees to hug him, whispering, "What happened to you being the brave one here?"

Tears now rolling down his cheeks, he held onto her with a startling force. "Sam, you know me more than anyone else. I'm not brave... and even if I was, I just can't be now... I can't even bring myself to tell you all the things that I should be telling you right now."

She sniffed as she smiled, trying not to cry but failing completely. "I'm glad you're being honest about how you feel for once." He helped her to her feet as he got up, and she said softly as he dried her tears, "Daniel... you could come with. You'd be able to visit Atlantis."

"I tried. Believe me. I've been blocked at every turn. Jack doesn't want me going to Atlantis again without the rest of the team too... and we're still on active duty even if there isn't an active threat any more so it could be years before I'd be allowed to go." He closed his eyes and sighed. "Oh... Samantha..."

She nodded, knowing what was on his mind. "I know." She kissed his ear. "This isn't how I wanted things between us either... but like with our jobs, it happened and we just have to get on with what we have." She kissed him and rested her head against his shoulder, gazing up at him. She stroked his hair and whispered, not liking the fact that he was frowning, "Daniel..." He looked down at her. "Let's make tonight happy. We have this one night before those hard months ahead... and I for one don't want to waste it worrying about things that might happen."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Daniel and Sam lie face-to-face and naked on their bed following some gentle lovemaking. As she waited for sleep to come, and as he tried hard to stave off sleep, they talked quietly, keeping the general mood peaceful. After a little while, he shivered a little so he, concerned for his fiancée's wellbeing, covered them both with the sheets, and his hand lovingly caressed from her neck to her shoulder. As she slowly rubbed his waist, she said with a carefree smile, remembering the good times that they had had together, and being hopeful for the many good times to come,

"I've never been on vacation with you. We managed to have a relationship and even get engaged in between our crazy jobs, but we've never..."

"_It was written that I would love you  
From the moment I opened my eyes  
And the morning when I first saw you  
Gave me life under calico skies_..."

He smiled as he watched her. "What about..."

"Nuh-uh, anything work-related... like chasing Ba'als or going through the 'gate, doesn't count."

"Shame... 'cos if it did, it would mean that we've been on vacation way too many times to count."

She chuckled but her smile soon faded as she looked up at the ceiling. "We've done some crazy stuff over the years, haven't we?" She smiled again as she looked at him once again. "You jumped out of a plane."

He grimaced a little at the memory. "Don't remind me."

She kissed him softly. "We... the team... we've each had to overcome fears and reservations to do the things that we had to do. I think it changed us. I for one wouldn't be a full bird Colonel if I hadn't joined the Stargate programme. I'd probably have ended up being an astronaut..." She looked at him oddly.

He smiled. "I could imagine that." He paused, mulling over the odd look that she had given him, and suddenly looking curious. "What's wrong with being an astronaut?"

"Oh come on... shuttles and the International Space Station... compared to what _we've_ seen?" She glanced away from him for a moment. "Well, okay, so I guess I've been spoiled by all that... but really... I can't see myself as an astronaut. It might also be a mindset I've had since the Challenger disaster..." She shrugged. "... but it feels weird thinking about it."

"Well... if you ask me, you'd make a great astronaut... although you wouldn't be fully appreciated. How many astronauts would be expected to upload viruses to DHDs and blow up suns?" She snorted with laughter, and he smiled at her fondly. "I've always had a deep respect for you. My specialist fields were learnt in the classroom, so to speak. I just apply what I've learnt and sometimes re-interpret it to fit what actually happened in the case of historical and mythological events. You, on the other hand, while you have that too, you've also had to deal with the knowledge that a lot of the things, or at least some of the things that you've been taught are only half the picture. You've not only dealt with it, but you've..."

She smiled, amused as she silenced him with a finger to his lips. She whispered, "So have you." She moved her finger from his lips and gently combed his hair with her fingers as she gazed at him affectionately. "I don't want to talk about work tonight, Daniel. Tonight's my last night with you for a little while... I just want to remember everything... because..." She appeared momentarily fearful. "... I'm scared that I might forget something."

His hand came to rest on her waist. "You won't." He kissed her, offering her a weak smile as his heart felt as though it was about to tear apart as he considered their impending separation. "I'm always going to be with you, no matter where you go."

She suddenly closed her eyes and tears surged in her eyes and she turned away from him. Worried, he asked, propping himself up on an elbow as he rubbed her shoulder, "Sam? What's wrong?"

"_I will hold you for as long as you like  
I'll hold you for the rest of my life_

Always looking for ways to love you  
Never failing to fight at your side  
While the angels of love protect us  
From the innermost secrets we hide..."

She looked up at him, the tears in her eyes catching the soft light emanating from a bedside lamp. "You're telling me the things that you're supposed to be." She closed her eyes and hugged him, sniffing as she continued to cry. "I know it's taking you a lot to be that brave, Daniel... and it hurts that you'll put yourself through that for me." She kissed his shoulder. "Thank you." She tightened her embrace of him as her body trembled. "Thank you."

He blinked to stop himself from getting tearful as he held her just as tightly, whispering as he rested his head against hers, "No need to thank me." He entwined his fingers in her hair. "I'm just trying to make this easier for the both of us... I guess it feels like it's going to be ages, but before you know it... you'll be home and we can finally get married. It's just one more hurdle before it's our time... and I'll be right there waiting." He kissed her ear and smiled a more stronger smile than before. "There really isn't a lot that I can do. While it's painful to let you go, it's going to be okay. We'll be okay."

She looked at him, her eyes eventually wandering to his chest, her fingers idly roaming what she knew to be hers. "You're going to be okay too, Daniel." She kissed him and gazed at him lovingly. "You've got plenty of work to distract you from the pain."

"_I'll hold you for as long as you like  
I'll hold you for the rest of my life..._

Long live all of us crazy soldiers  
Who were born under calico skies  
May we never be called to handle  
All the weapons of war we despise..."

He gently touched the tip of her nose, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Sam... my Samantha... you know that doesn't work." He kissed her, closing his eyes when she held onto the back of his neck. He made a humming noise when she groaned during the embrace, and when they finally ended the kiss, he whispered, his lips moving to her neck, "Nothing will work. I'm just going to count the days 'til you're back here in my arms."

"_I'll hold you for as long as you like  
__I'll hold you for the rest of my life  
I'll hold you for as long as you like  
I'll hold you for the rest of my ...  
For the rest of my life..._"

She smiled a little as she held him around his waist, her head against his chest as he held her tight, his lips moving a little against her hair as he talked softly to her. She caressed his lower back and then flashed him a coy grin. The same thought running through his mind, he grinned back at her as they rolled under the covers together, the Colonel shrieking with laughter as the Archaeologist squirmed when she tickled him. When she lie beneath him, his body over hers, he gazed down at her lovingly and whispered, his face alight with love for her as she continued to grin up at him,

"Oh Samantha... how I wish this night would never end."

She threaded her fingers in his hair as he began to nuzzle her throat. "Just you wait 'til I come home again." She closed her eyes with a blissful smile, concentrating on the moment rather than what was in their immediate future.


	23. Chapter 23

Daniel sat on his and Sam's bed next to her open bag, the Archaeologist quietly watching as his fiancée went back-and-forth, a phone clamped to her head as she looked close to a breakdown. Knowing how stressed she was, he stood up and when she stopped in front of her dresser, he approached her and gently massaged her shoulders. She closed her eyes and sighed softly as she leaned into his touch, flexing her neck as she realised just how stressed she was getting. She smiled back at him, mouthing the word, 'thanks,' before saying into the phone,

"Yes, Sir. No, I understand. Thanks."

She pressed a button to disconnect the phone before dropping it to the ground, not caring about what happened to it. Daniel said in a soft voice, "That was a long call."

Sam exhaled as his fingers continued to knead her tense muscles. "Just some technicalities about Midway. He just had to make sure that I understood as there isn't time for a briefing before I go. There could have been, to be honest, but I think he took pity on us." She turned around, slipping her arms around his shoulders as she rested her head against him, closing her eyes as she tried to draw strength from him. He rested his head against hers as he held her tight. She whispered, her body beginning to involuntarily tremble, "Daniel... if I don't come back..." She felt his body tense up and a tear rolled down her cheek. "... I don't want you to spend the rest of your life alone. You'll find someone, and I'll tell you now, you have my blessing."

He didn't say anything, not a single word in reply, and she felt even worse. She felt far worse when he shook and she realised that he was crying. Feeling absolutely rotten, she held onto him tighter. "I'm sorry, Daniel. I'm sorry, but..."

He shook his head and said quietly, his voice sounding congested, "Sam... I just want you to know that there is no-one else for me... there never will be."

Tears now running down her cheeks, she said, shaking her head as she looked up at him, "There could be one day, Daniel, you never know. I just don't want you feeling guilty when the time comes and I'm not here."

He appeared flustered at the prospect of sharing the love that he had with Sam, with someone else. "I didn't ask anyone else to marry me. I want you. Even... even if you don't come back, which... which I want to think is incredibly unlikely, there will never be anyone else."

"You say that now, Daniel, but..."

He snapped, "But nothing. This isn't the pain talking." He glanced at his watch and quickly composed himself, his tone softening. "Come on, you've gotta have breakfast before you go... without your fan club."

She smiled as she dried her eyes with the tissue he gave her. "You're so cute when you're jealous." She kissed him on the cheek as he gazed at her sombrely, and she stepped around him in order to fasten her bag. She tilted her head back and looked around their room. "I'm going to miss this place." She turned to look at him with a half-smile. "I'm going to miss you."

He remarked with a smile that failed to reach his eyes, "I'm glad you said that." He gazed at her, his smile softening as he focussed on the good memories, of which there were a lot, that he had of their time together. She was about to lift her bag when he stopped her. "Here, let me." Without waiting for an answer, he lifted the bag and with his other hand, took her hand as they left the room together.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Cam lie curled up in bed with Vala, a contented smirk on his face as he held her with one arm, the elbow of his other arm being used to prop himself up, his bare back bathed in the morning sunlight. He beamed as Vala's eyes opened, and he remarked as he cuddled her, "Hey, Mrs Mitchell, how's it going?"

They kissed and she replied, her face radiant with happiness, "It's still... going, Colonel Mitchell." She looked at him flirtatiously, and then asked, concerned, "Aren't we going to Daniel and Samantha's?"

He shook his head and said with a small grimace, "Ah, no. Was gonna drop in a little later, but got a somewhat stiff phone call from Jackson, asking whether we were gonna have breakfast with them. Kinda took the hint there." He smoothed his wife's stomach as he kissed her temple. "We'll see Sam off at the SGC." He glanced at the bedside clock. "Speaking of which... we better move if we're gonna get there without breaking the speed limit." She opened her mouth to speak and he raised an eyebrow. "No, we're not gonna use you being pregnant as an excuse. We've got to save that one up for when we do get round to making us some little Mitchells." He kissed her softly as her gaze became downcast, the former Goa'uld host feeling forlorn. "Hey, come on, we've only just started try-outs. We've got plenty of time."

She looked up at him, barely concealed anguish in her eyes. "But what if by having Adria..."

"Hey, hush up now... Carolyn said you're fine. Just gonna take a little time 'cos of the stress and crap." He sighed softly as he settled down to cuddle her under the covers, his eyes closed as she began to smile at his attempts to reassure her. "Come on, baby. Just time for this. Wanna continue try-outs after watching Sam go?"

She shrieked in surprise when he tickled her, a mischievous expression on his face, and she replied, grinning when he groaned, rolling his head back into the pillow once she had exacted her revenge on him, "Let's take a break. We could actually leave the house for something that isn't work."

He remarked with a teasing smile, "Isn't it a bit late to want to date me now? You're in it for the long haul now, honey bunches."

She hummed smugly as she lie over him, her long hair cascading around his face. "I could say the same to you." She closed her eyes as their bodies slid together and she whispered with an impish smile, "Let's break the speed limit to get to the SGC."

He murmured distractedly, the Colonel being unable in that moment to focus on anything else, "Sure thing, Mrs Mitchell."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Daniel watched Sam politely shake hands with her senior officers in the gateroom. His sadness appeared to remain at bay for the time being as he watched his fiancée prepare to leave. He watched her, dressed in an olive green flight suit, be engulfed in huge hugs from Teal'c and Vala after a solemn handshake with Cam. Sam said with a smile tinged with regret as she looked at Cam,

"I'm going to miss your promotion. If it was up to me, I'd be there."

Cam smiled at her affectionately. "I know. You're gonna be there in spirit anyhow." He patted her shoulder. "Go kick some ass, girl. Good luck."

Sam said quietly to both him and Vala, "And to you too."

Cam and Vala exchanged a discreet glance before thanking her, and at last Sam made it to Daniel. They just stood facing each other, neither sure of what to say. Daniel came to the conclusion, however, that he, being a civilian rather than military, would be permitted to hug her. If he wasn't... he didn't care. This was his fiancée. Being brave for her, he smiled at her fondly and hugged her tight, whispering as he almost swept her off her feet,

"I am so proud of you."

She grinned at him as he spun her around and suddenly she felt much better about her impending time away. She would be back. The months would fly by. Jack, raising his eyebrows as Landry looked away, cleared his throat and said, looking a little testy,

"Uh, Daniel? Put Carter down."

The others smirked as Daniel eventually let a slightly embarrassed Sam go. He held her hand as she walked away from him, the Archaeologist slowly letting her hand go. Suddenly, she turned back to him and kissed him quickly, showing him with her eyes just how much she would miss him as he stroked her cheek. At last, she walked away from him, her bag slung over her shoulder as Jack rolled his eyes. The General asked, sounding insolent,

"Carter? Ready?"

Sam willed herself not to cry as her eyes fell on Daniel's quiet and drawn form, and she tried to swallow past a lump in her throat as she nodded. "Yes, Sir."

"Good." He looked up at the control room. "Walter?"

Walter called via his microphone, "The Apollo is ready and waiting, Sir."

Jack nodded in acknowledgement and then said as Sam nodded again, "Hit it."

Sam smiled slightly as she looked at her friends and she waved a little and then looked up as the Apollo beamed her out of the SGC. Almost instantly, she was standing on the bridge of an interstellar battle cruiser, facing the ship's commander, who was standing next to his command chair. Sam's bag was taken by an Airman, and Ellis said in greeting,

"Colonel Carter. Welcome."

He and Sam shook hands. "Colonel. Thank you."

He nodded to a waiting female Lieutenant. "Lieutenant Bracknell will escort you to your assigned quarters. It's a long ride there."

"If it's okay with you, Colonel, I'd like to look around the ship."

Ellis nodded before sitting down. "Sure thing." He smiled slightly as Sam smiled briefly in thanks as she walked behind his chair to sit down at an unmanned console. "General O'Neill's told me about you."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

It was dark with only the full moon in perigee and a mass of stars in the night sky for light. There was nobody about for miles, the very faint sound of cars barely audible in the distance above the breeze. Daniel sat on the bonnet of his car as he looked up at the night sky, the Archaeologist beginning to regret turning down Jack's offer of use of his telescope. He couldn't begin to fathom in which direction Midway was. He searched in vain for something in the heavens that would connect him to Sam, a reminder that she was out there.

A star flickered and he focussed on it, until he realised that it was the top right star of the constellation of Orion. He hugged himself, curling up on the bonnet of his car as he almost heard Sam's voice in his head, telling him the name of the star,

_'Bellatrix.'_

It was perfect. 'Bellatrix', he murmured to himself, was the Latin for 'female warrior.'

For the duration of the cold months, on clear nights like that, Sam would be there in the skies, a reminder of a part of him who was thousands of light years away, but who would be back in his arms by the time Orion became less obvious in the sky. His warrior. The thought, despite the distance between him and her, that Sam was his, made him smile as the tears rolled down his cheeks. He continued to look up at the sky until his eyes grew heavy with sleep, and he fell asleep where he was seated, a photo of his bride-to-be clutched tightly in his hands.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_Thanks so much, guys, for reading, reviewing, story alerting/favouriting, and for putting up with my sporadic updates of late. Thank you. You've been great as always. Sequel to come early next year hopefully, to fill in Continuum._

_Thank you! Reviews, as always, are incredibly welcome!_

_I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year (alternatively, Seasons Greetings!)_

_: )_


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